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TEACHING TRUTH 



BY 



Signs and Ceremonies-, 



OR, 



The Church, its Rites and Services, 



EXPLAINED FOR THE PEOPLE. 



BY 

Eev. Jas. L. Meagher. 



V .,y«*vw 



New York : 

RUSSELL BROTHERS, 17, 19, 21, 23 ROSE STREET. 

1882. 

ALL EIGHTS RESERVED. 



The Library 
m Cvvvgrkss 






The Rev. E. Hipelius, whom we deputed to examine a manuscript 
which the Rev. J. L. Meagher, of our Diocese of Albany, desires to 
give to the public in print, with the title, " Teaching Truth by Signs 
and Ceremonies," has certified to us that he has examined the manu- 
script, and that he has " found in it nothing against faith and morals, 
to the best of his observation." 

The Rev. E. Hipelius having made this statement, we hereby 
assent to the publication of the Rev. Father Meagher's manuscript. 



Albany, May 1, 1882. 

Imprimatur. 



f FRANCIS, 

Bp. of Albany. 

± JOHX, CARD. McCLOSKEY, 

ArchJyp. of New York. 



Copyrighted, 1881 & 1882, by Kev. Jas. L. Meagher. 



/ 2 - 3lpf 



TO THE 

PEOPLE 

WHO 

SPEAK THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 

THIS 

VOLUME 

IS 

DEDICATED. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter I. 
Reason Leads Us On _ _ 1 

Chapter II. 
Reasons for the Church and its Parts 15 

Chapter III. 
Reasons for the Things in the Church.. 33 

Chapter IV. 
Reasons for the Things in the Sanctuary.. 55 

Chapter V. 
Reasons of the Divine Presence _. 79 

Chapter VX 
Reasons for Having Latin.. 95 

Chapter YII. 
Reasons Relating to the Redemption 106 

Chapter YIII. 
Reasons for Having Vestments 123 

Chapter IX. 
THE MASS EXPLAINED.— Reasons for the Ceremonies from 
the Beginning to the Gospel 111 

Chapter X. 
THE MASS EXPLAINED.— Reasons for the Ceremonies from 
the Gospel to the Canon. _ _. 173 

Chapter XL 
THE MASS EXPLAINED.— Reasons for the Ceremonies of 
the Canon 197 

Chapter XII. 
THE MASS EXPLAINED.— Reasons for the Ceremonies from 
the Lord's Prayer to the End of Mass _ 225 

Chapter XIII. 
Reasons for Having Funeral Ceremonies 215 

Chapter XIV. 
Reasons for the Ceremonies of Vespers and Benediction 273 



PKEFAOE, 



Amongst the most striking, the most remarkable, and the 
most sublime objects in the world to-day, are the Rites, the 
Ceremonies, and the Services of the Church ; yet few know 
their origin, their meaning, and their history. 

Listening to the voice of antiquity, we learn that our 
Eites have come down to us, substantially, from the very 
days of the Apostles. Sent by Christ our Lord to preach 
the glad tidings of the Gospel to all nations, they took por- 
tions of the familiar forms and ceremonies of the temple at 
Jerusalem, some harmless customs even from the pagans, 
or suggested by nature itself, and clothing them in the 
Latin of the Roman Empire — which was then, providen- 
tially, almost the universal tongue of the civilized world — 
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they planted the 
germ of the most sublime system of Rites ever known, so 
that until the end of time the Church, by means of Signs 
and Ceremonies, might teach mankind truths mercifully 
brought from heaven. 

In this beautiful Ritual, every sign recalls a doctrine, 
every movement has its meaning, every action breathes of 
mystery. 

To explain the Latin Rite to the people, and present, in 
familiar terms, all that is seen or heard in our religious Ser- 
vices, is the scope of this work, and the end the writer had 
in view in the following pages. 



Vlll PREFACE. 

The labor of compilation has been very great. The au- 
thor went from library to library, consulting the works of 
the Fathers and Liturgical writers; gathering, here and 
there, materials for his purpose. Very often he has omit- 
ted to name the sources of his statements, both because it 
would give his book the appearance of an affectation of 
learning, and again because he did not always remember 
the authors to whom he was indebted. Errors no doubt 
may have crept into the work, which the author will feel 
grateful to haye pointed out for future correction. 

To the kind friends who have aided and encouraged him, 
the writer is very thankful, at the same time regretting 
that some one else, rather than a young assistant priest, 
did not undertake the work, so as to make the book worthy 
of the subject, As it is, we now lay it before the public, 
praying that the Author of our Kites, the Holy Ghost, may 
be with the reader, and draw him nearer to God while 
perusing the following pages. 

Feast of the Ascexsiox of our Lord, 
Marathon, N. Y., May 18, 1882. 




-^ THC CAThHlORAL.NEWYl 



TEACHING TRUTH BY SIGNS AND CEREMONIES 



CHAPTER I. 

EEASON LEADS TJS O^". 

COME with me, reader, and I will take you through the 
grandest institution on earth — the Church of God. 
Together we will penetrate the hidden meanings of her rites 
and ceremonies ; brushing off the dust of centuries from the 
works of the great masters, there to be told the meaning of 
her ceremonial. May the Holy Spirit be with us and guide 
us by His light and assist us by His grace, that He may 
show us the truth bidden in her rites and ceremonies, in the 
ornaments of churches and of cathedrals, of shrines and of 
altars, in vestments and in liturgies grand and majestic by 
which religion speaks to the mind through the eye and ear, 
and raises up the soul to our Lord and our Creator, God. 
We will lay down the doctrine in some of the following 
pages, so that the meaning of ceremonies may be more 
easily understood. We will give a rapid sketch of the rea- 
sons and of the meanings of the Church, its rites and cere- 
monies, coming down from the times of bygone ages, when 
this our ritual flourished. It is called the Apostolic rite, for 
its foundations were laid when the Apostles dwelt at Jerusa- 
lem, before their separation ; it is called the Apostolic, for it 
is one of those founded by the Apostles and brought to Rome 
by St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, in the form now used 
in the Latin Church. Such was the beginning of our rite, 



2 COMPAEED WITH BABYLON. 

called the Apostolic, or Latin, rite. Read the work through. 
The mind of man was never occupied with a higher or a 
nobler object. 

To what shall I compare thee, O kingdom of God? The 
kingdoms of the earth are small beside thee ! Looking back 
through the ages of the past, we see Babylon, with its 
mighty walls, its towering ramparts, its hanging gardens, its 
majestic palaces, its superb temples, its public edifices, its 
vast extent, spreading over the plains of the Euphrates, its 
kingdom extending from the shores of the Mediterranean 
sea to the Indian ocean — Babylon, with its long line of 
kingsj going back beyond the time when Abraham, 
a youth, by call of God, left his father's house in 
Mesopotamia, 1 — back to the time of Kimrod, the mighty 
hunter. But what is the kingdom of Babylon to that greater 
kingdom of God — his holy Church, founded not by Ximrod, 
"but by God's only Son ; going back, not to the origin of the 
Chaldean rulers, but to the gates of paradise f not bounded 
by the shores of the oceans, but by the extent of the human 
race. Babylon, built in plunder, impiety and pride, ended in 
drunkenness. Its sacrilegious king laid impious hands on 
the holy vessels of Solomon's temple, and dared to drink 
from vessels consecrated to the Lord of Hosts. The hand of 
the Lord wrote his doom upon the wall. That night Cyrus 
entered the city a conqueror — that moment Babylon per- 
ished — that night Baltassar was slain. 3 

To what will we liken thee, O Spouse of Christ ? The 
Medes and Persians under Cyrus swept down from the 
shores of the Caspian sea, sending forth their conquering 
legions, till they spread their empire from one end to the 
other of Western Asia, till it became greater, more power- 
ful, and more populous than all the splendor of Babylon. * 
But it was not of God. It was built on human foundations. 
It was of the earth earthy. A few generations passed and 
it fell to ruins. Now it is found only in history, while the 
Church of God lives and grows stronger every day, every 
age adds to its strength, every generation increases its num- 
bers, every century feels the inspiration of its greatness. 

To what shall we compare thee, Church of God? 

i Gen. xii. 1. 2 s. Aug. De Baptisnio Contra Donat. xxiv. » Daniel, v. 30. 

4 Xenopnon"s Inst, of Cyrus. 



ANCIENT ROME. 3 

Alexander the Great swept over the face of the earth with 
irresistible force. In a few years the Son of the Macedonian 
king conquered Thracia, Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, Persia, 
India ; his power spread along the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean sea ; he dragged conquered heroes, kings and em- 
perors, after his triumphal chariot ; he overcame all opposi- 
tion, till the entire known world fell under his victorious 
arm. 1 But his was not the chosen empire of the Lord, and 
amidst the greatest designs man ever conceived, Alexander 
died drunk, and his vast empire crumbled to pieces. He left 
no heir to sit upon his throne ; it lasted but for his lifetime; 
while the Church of God has lasted more than eighteen 
centuries. She conquered nations, not to enslave them, but 
to give them liberty. She draws heroes, kings and emperors 
after her, but only to bless the heroes and the kingly power, 
to deck the rulers of the earth with a more sacred character, 
to teach all to obey their superiors. 

What art thou like, O Catholic Church? The Roman 
Empire extended further than the others. Rome with her 
love of liberty and of patriotism ; Rome, queen of the ancient 
cities ; what could equal her in beauty ? Her capitol built by 
Tarquin, her temples vast and gorgeous, her public baths, her 
aqueducts, her roads, her public buildings ; Rome, sitting on 
her seven hills, sending forth her armies conquering and to 
conquer ; 2 Rome, with her empire spreading from the vast 
forests of northern Europe to the deserts of Africa, and from 
the Atlantic nearly to the Indian ocean ; Rome, with its 
civilization, its power, its literature, its refinement, its altars, 
its temples, its all that attract men ; certainly Rome must be 
the great empire of God, foretold by the prophet ? No, reader, 
Rome* was to meet the fate of Babylon, of Cbaldea, and of 
Alexander. In the sixth century it fell at the attacks of the 
horde' of savages from the north of Europe and of Asia, and 
Rome was gone, 3 while the Church of God survived the 
attack, lived while Rome bowed down her haughty head, and 
lives to-day the only thing on earth which goes back to these 
ancient times. 

1 The governments of the earth are young compared to her. 
The United States is in its infancy, the French republic is of 
yesterday, the English goes back to the Magna Charta, 

1 Rolin's Ancient History. 2 Gibbon's Roman Empire, Vol. I. 3 Ibid. Vol. III. 



4 THE CIYILIZFE OF FATHHTS. 

Germany to scarcely a third of a generation, Russia goes 
Less than three hundred years, the reigning house of 
Austria, Hapsburg, since the twelfth century. Hence all 
nations and governments are young compared to the Catholic 
Church. She alone goes back to the times when sacrifices 
were offered to the false gods of the Romans, when the civili- 
zation of Greece and Rome flourished in Southern Europe, 
when imperial Rome sat upon her seven hills and ruled the 
world, when the roars of the wild beasts told of the martyrs 
of the Colosseum, when the Christians with their Pastors, 
their Bishops, and their Pope, lived in the fasti-— - : the 
mountains, or dwelt in the darkness of the eatacombs. 1 

Will I tell you, reader, of her influence on nations — how 
she gathered up the learning of the Roman Empire when it 
was destroyed by the ravages of the northern tribes in the 
fifth century 8 — how she guarded the literature of Greece when 
the genius of the sons of Athens had departed — how she 
cherished the bible when pagan and unlettered men would 
destroy i: — how she treasured up the sciences, the laws, the 
books, and the valuable works of the ancients ? Will I tell 
you that all laws of modern civilization came from her — of 
how she molded the mind of England and taught them to love 
liberty — of how our laws in this country came from the 
English common law, and the English common law from the 
clergy — that Blackstone and Kent are but extensions of our 
theology — of how she molded the laws of Frauce, of Germany, 
of Austria, of Spain, of Italy, and of every nation of Europe'? 
Will I tell you that from her comes the Latin language — 
that the very words, the very language we speak, is loaded 
with her ideas and breathes her doctrines — that Europe is 
civilized because she made it thus 2 

TTho can do justice to her architecture and her build- 
ings "? 

Architecture first rose in the morning of Grecian civiliza- 
tion, till as ages and generations passed majestic tern 
rose in splendor and in beauty from the hilltops of classic 
Greece. Ionic, Doric and Corinthian styles shone in beauty 
and symmetry, carved from the rough marble of Paros and 
of Pentelicus. The Parthenon, the Telmesus. the Lysierates 

i 2 Macanlav's Essay Ranke"s Hist, of the Popes. 
'.Gibbon's Boman Empire, Chap. sxxi. 



ARCHITECTUKE AMONG THE KOMANS. , O 

and the Acropolis made Grecian buildings eclipse in splendor 
all ancient peoples. But the grandeur passed away. In the 
first century before our Lord they were conquered by the 
Romans, and civilization found a resting place in the houses, 
the palaces and the temples of the imperial City Rome. 1 

The Romans blending the Grecian and Etruscan systems, 
and improving on them, formed a finer style, and left us the 
noble examples of the temple of Antoninus, of Faustina 
Vesta, of Jupiter Tonans, of Castor Pollux, of the Pantheon, 
of the Baths of Dioclesian, of the Temple of Hercules, the 
Colosseum and the ruins of temples, of palaces, of triumphal 
arches and of buildings that eclipse in grandeur and beauty 
all the works of the nations that had gone before. Under 
such architects as Antheminus and Isidorus, and such sculp- 
tors as Antinous and his followers, Rome became a city of 
palaces, temples and public buildings, of such beauty, grace, 
symmetry and grandeur as the world never saw before. Paint- 
ings decorated the walls of palaces, of houses and of tem- 
ples. The statues of gods of stone, of marble, of ivory, 
of silver and of gold were placed on pedestals of 
precious stones, and received the adoration of a proud, a 
vicious, but an extremely religious people. Rome was the 
foster mother of civilization. Such was the condition 
of things when Peter the fisherman, leaving his disciple 
St. Ignatius in Antioch, turned his steps toward Rome, and 
fixed his See as first Pope on the very steps of Caesar's 
throne. For centuries the arts made no progress. The 
Church was persecuted. Her children lived in the fastnesses 
of the hills and dark places as heroes and as virgins, and died 
in the forum or the Colosseum as martyrs. At length came 
her deliverance. Constantine moved his Empire to the 
banks of the Bosphorus, leaving Rome to the rule of the 
popes. 

Then began that progress in the arts that shone with 
greatest splendor, and exceeded far the beauties of the 
Greeks and Romans. The Christians blending the symmetry 
and beauty of the Greeks, the strength and massiveness of 
the Romans, the solidity of the Egyptians, the harmony of 
the Etruscans and the light beauty of the Persians all together, 
formed a style more graceful, more noble, more sublime 

1 Am. Cycloped. Art. Architecture. 



6 GEEAT CATHEDEALS. 

than all before. Under the inspired hand of the Church the 
cold rock, the dead canvas, and the dull music became divine, 
filled with life. Then, and in the ages following, sprang 
the Byzantine, the Lombardian, the Saxon, the Norman, 
the Carlovingian and the Gothic styles of architecture, and 
the christian schools of sculpture and of painting. Churches 
grand and gorgeous rose in splendor and in beauty, and in 
majesty, far exceeding the temples of Jove, of Saturn, or of 
Jupiter Amnion. Edifices were built and decoratedwith a 
richness and a grandeur above the beauties or the wealth 
of the temples of Diana of Ephesus, or of Elephanta of 
India. St. Mark's at Venice, St. Vjtale at Ravenna, and 
St. Sophia at Constantinople, stand the grandest and most 
beautiful buildings ever raised by the hand of man. In the 
west St. Peters in Rome, the cathedrals of Milan and of 
Cologne, are the finest and most beautiful buildings the 
eye of man ever gazed upon. 

In every city of the civilized world the Church built a 
church, and stamped upon it the beauties of her own creation. 
The cathedrals built in the middle ages speak in powerful 
language of the influence of the Church. The cathedrals of 
Lincoln, of Paris, of Strasburgh, of Lyons, of Genoa, of 
Naples, and the churches of Rome stand the most beautiful, 
the most gorgeous, the grandest, the most magnificent build- 
ings ever erected. 

In every country, from the rising to the setting sun, her 
influence is seen in the buildings, the schools, the colleges, 
the universities, the convents, the monasteries, the churches 
and the cathedrals; on each one she stamped her image 
and left the impress of her inspired mind. Every place you 
see her influence and feel her power. She stamped on na- 
tions both ancient and modern the seal of her divinity, leav- 
ing behind her characters such as no institution ever did, 
and the monuments of other times bear no comparison to 
those she left. 

The pyramids, the sphinxes, the ruins on the banks of the 
Nile, stand like sentinels, dead and silent monuments of the 
pride and folly of the kings and nobles of ancient Egypt ; 
the vast buildings of Arabia Petrea, carved from the solid 
rock, tell us of peoples whose names and whose histories 
are lost ; the mausoleums and tombs of the kings of Golconda 



EUnSTS TELL OF NATIONS GONE. 7 

recall a barbarous race of princes that are gone; the ruins of 
Babylon, buried under a marsh on the banks of the Euphrates, 
and the mounds of Assyria, show us the vengeance of God; 
the remains of cities, of states and of empires on the northern 
shores of Africa, and on the hills and valleys of Asia Minor, 
speak in powerful eloquence of the fate of nations when they 
lose the true faith ; the vast pyramids, the crumbling temples, 
the great cities buried, the streets overgrown with forests 
from Mexico to Peru, are the footprints and the remains of 
peoples and of nations lost in the womb of time, or buried in 
everlasting oblivion, while the ruined convents, the fallen 
church pillars, the moss-covered crosses, the ivy-covered 
towers, the silent abbeys, the ruined carved windows, the 
crumbling chapel walls, the remains of buildings from the 
shores of Ireland to the rivers of India, and from the deserts 
of Africa to the shores of the Arctic ocean, tell the story of 
the power of a Church now more powerful than ever, and 
whose glories will go on undiminished and increasing, in her 
object to save souls and civilize nations, till the angel's 
trumpet calls the dead to judgment. 

The ruins of ecclesiastical buildings tell the history of her 
glories and her work in past ages. The many oval struct- 
ures on the islands of the coast of Gal way, Dun Aengus, 
looking down from the high cliff's of Arran, Innisfallen, near 
the crystal lakes of Killarney, Cormack's chapel crowning 
the rock of Cash el, and the broken arches, and the crumbling 
walls in every part, tell us of the Church and of the piety of 
the children of the Isle of Saints, before the heel of the 
conquerer crushed to earth the spirit of the sons and 
daughters of Ireland. The ruins of the Island of Ioa, the 
home of St. Columba, the burial-place of the kings of Scot- 
land, of Ireland, of Norway, and of France, 1 the churches 
and the kirks of Glasgow and of Edinburgh, teach us of 
the ancient faith of Scotland before John Knox preached to 
them the new faith of presbyterianism.' The cathedrals and 
the churches of England, of Salisbury and of Lincoln, of York, 
and of Durham, of Worcester, of Winchester and of Wells ; 
the buildings of the Universities of Oxford, of Cambridge, 
the noble pile of Westminster Abbey, founded by St. Melletus, 
the Pantheon of England, the burial-place of her heroes, her 

1 Montalembert's Monks of the West. 



8 HEE nOXHERCE EN THE PAST. 

nobles, her princes, and her kings ; those grand buildinars 
from one end to the other of the land, in whose aisles no 
more is heard the voice of monks, of Priests, and of Bishops 
consecrated to the Lord — all these are everlasting monu- 
ments of the greatness of the Church before the Reformation. 
The churches of Germany, and the civilization of that peo- 
ple, are evidences of the labors of the early Irish missionaries, 
and of St. Boniface and his companions, as well as of the 
illustrious Charlemagne ; the noble cathedrals of Freibursr, of 
Posen, of Ratisbon, of Bamberg, of Metz, of Yeiduni and of 
Toul stand monuments of the Church before the time of 
Luther. The great L'niversities of Vienna, of Leipsic. of 
Tubingen, of vVurzburg, of Heidelburg, of Greef swald, and of 
Freiburg, tell us of the solicitude of the Church, and the 
care of the Popes for the cause of learning before the 
Reformation. 

Thus she leaves on nations the impress of her divine 
hand, on every side monuments of her greatness and of her 
divinity. Need I tell you of France, of sunny France, 
of her churches and of her universities and her sch 
of her colleges, and of her institutions of learning; of the 
refinement and culture of her people, trained from the times 
of the Roman conquest by the clergy ? Xet* d I tell vou, 
that from the English channel to the shores of the Mediter- 
ranean sea, in every part of France, and Spain, and Portugal, 
are monuments left by the Church ? Xeed I speak of Italy, 
the home of the fine arts, the land of architecture, of sculp- 
ture and of painting, fostered and encouraged by the P 
from the time that Peter came from Antioeh, encouraged by 
that long line of Popes, that royal house of Peter, before 
which all the kings and princes and royal houses of the 
world are as of yesterday ? 

Let us pass the snow-crowned Alps, and under the 
azure sky of Italy let us seek the footprints of the 
Church in by-gone ages. TTe are entering the gates of the 
vast city of Milan. Before us stands a palace of white mar- 
ble, raised on the site of the one burned by Attila, the 
"scourgeof God," — Attila, before whose barbarous sword the 
haughty Roman empire bowed its head. We are gazing 
on the cathedral which stands on the spot where the sublime 
eloquence of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine once was heard. 




THE CATHEDRAL, MILAN. 



A TEMPLE BUILT FOR GOD. 9 

The noble edifice stands before us in all its magnificence. 
Ten thousand sculptured statues of saints, and martyrs, and 
virgins, and heroes, crown the countless turrets pointing 
heavenward, all glittering in the sun like molten silver 1 ; a 
wealth untold of architecture and sculpture sparkles in the sun. 
The beauties of sculpture, the wealth of architecture are 
riot with Christian joy, all proclaim it the finest effort of man 
to engrave beauty on stone. Within, the paintings and the 
frescoes of the greatest masters adorn the wall. The 
grandest music of the masters falls in gentle cadence on the 
ear, or swells in majestic sounds to raise up the soul of 
man — all inspire devotion. Praise God is written on every 
line, and thrills the soul with new emotion. All point to 
Him whose delight is to be with the sons of men, all honor 
Jesus on that altar. Thus all in the Church, the plan, the 
foundation, the music, the ornaments, the style, all point to 
the altar, telling of the unchanging faith, the belief of past 
ages in the Real Presence, of God in the Sacrament of the 
altar. And so the ruins of churches and cathedrals built in 
all ages and countries in the east tell the same. Their shape, 
their form, their ornamentation, point to the altar, telling us 
of the faith of ages past in the Real Presence. Such is the 
story of the ruins of the churches of Carthage and of Hippo, 
the cathedrals of the great St. Cyprian and of St. Augustine ; 
such is the proof drawn from the ruins of Smyrna and of 
Ephesus, the churches of St. Polycarp, and of the beloved 
disciple, St. John ; such is the burden of the silent eloquence 
of the broken arches, the crumbling sculpture, the fallen 
pillars that dot the hillsides and vales of Asia Minor, of 
Arabia, of Syria and of the north of Africa. They tell us 
of the old Catholic belief ages before those countries were 
conquered by the Mahommedans ; all proclaim in silent, 
mournful language, the belief of the people who erected 
them, of Jesus on the altar, our unchanging faith. 

But you say that the time and the age of building- 
cathedrals has gone and is past! Go to South America ; 
behold the cathedrals of Caracas, of Quito, of Mexico, of 
Philadelphia, and of Boston ; go, stand on Fifth Avenue 
in New York, behold the new cathedral raised by our people, 
built by our first Cardinal, built, in our generation. Study 

1 Father Burke's Sermon, " The Church, the Mother and the Insp. of Art." 




THE CATHEDRAL. NEW "YORK. 




THE CATHEDRAL, NEW YORK. 



10 TlttE FOR BUILDING CATHEDRALS ]STOT GOXE- 

its beauties, its grace, its symmetry, its proportions. Enter 
in, see its pillars, its altars, its shrines, its grand centre altar, 
and say no more the age of building cathedrals and of 
churches is past, or the Church is on the decline. How 
men try to find excuses, how they try to prove her wrong, 
how they speak of the Middle Ages as ages of darkness, how 
they like to ridicule the clergy; but let them go to the 
church. Enter in, reader; study its beauties in the dim re- 
ligious light; look around and see those outlines of sym- 
metry, that harmony, that regularity. They are silent 
things, yet they speak a powerful speech that pierces the 
heart. They are made according to the line of beauty, in- 
spired by the Church. They tell of things divine ; they 
teach of things of heaven, of God's unity, of His divinity, of 
the Trinity, of the Three in One, of the incarnation, of the 
union of God and man in Jesus Christ, of Mary immaculate, 
of the life of the Saviour, of his works and his miracles, 
of the dying Son of God, of His resurrection, of His ascen- 
sion into heaven, of gospel scenes and incidents. Thus 
the pictorial windows speak to the heart; the very light is 
loaded with religion. Such is the mute eloquence of the 
windows. Is not this divine, is not this heavenly, is not this 
religion elevating; raising us up by the noble sense of the 
beautiful to a knowledge of the uncreated beautiful awaiting 
us in heaven ? Behold around you the statues.' Angelic forms 
look upon us; patriarchs and prophets are before us; the 
saints and the virgins are around us; they tell us their lives 
by their images; their history comes to our minds by one 
look; they are the sculptures of the martyrs; they are not 
the nude female images of the ancient Greek and Roman 
sculptures. Christian modesty has covered their forms, and 
holiness and purity shine out from every outline. Such is 
the lesson of the images and of the sculptures. And the 
music, those grand strains, so soul-inspiring, raising the 
heart, piercing to our inmost soul, moving our very nature, 
filling us sometimes with sadness and sorrow, as in the 
services for the dead, and with fear for our death and judg- 
ment, as in the solemn cadence of the Requiem; filling us 
with gladness, as in the joyful music of the resurrection, and 
in the midnight mass of Christmas. Such is the ornamenta- 
tion of the churches The mind of man was never devoted 



THE CHURCH IJST THE CATACOMBS. 11 

to a nobler or a grander object, cultivating the sense of the 
beautiful in man, and that to raise his mind to the uncreated 
beauty in heaven, to lift his soul to God. 

Do you see those ceremonies — they are singular. That is 
not a stage where actors play false parts ; that sanctuary 
is where the grandest rites and ceremonies take place, fig- 
ured first in the temple of Solomon and the tabernacle of 
Moses. There the reality takes place. Thus nearly everything 
in our churches comes from the old law, comes from the 
tabernacle and from the temple. Thus the Jewish people 
were chosen by God to receive the truth from heaven, and 
to guard the things revealed, till, in the fulness of time, the 
desired of the everlasting hills, the Saviour came. And 
when he had gone up into heaven, when the Apostles went 
forth to found churches in every part of the world, they took 
the model of these buildings from the temple, for the taber- 
nacle and the temple were the pictures of our Churches. 

And in times of persecution, when all the powers of Rome 
were brought to bear against the Church to crush her out 
of existence, the Christians fled to the catacombs. There 
in these dark places, in the depths of the earth, the early 
saints and martyrs lived — there they held their services — 
they lighted up these dark caverns and deep recesses with 
candles and tapers, and the bowels of the earth resounded 
with virgin's song and martyr's voice in praises of the living 
God. There, during those ten frightful persecutions that 
swept from earth the fairest members of the human race, 
when to say you were a Catholic was to be worse than to be a 
murderer, to have a price put on your head, and to be hunted 
like a wild beast, the catacombs under Rome were lighted up 
and used for the services of the Church. At length truth pre- 
vailed. The power of God overcame the works of darkness. 
Constantine declared the freedom of worship, 1 and the 
Catholic Church came forth into daylight. But in remem- 
brance of those times, those days of martyrs and of heroes, 
the Church has always preserved the candles and the lights. 
These were but the beginnings of the ceremonies, and as she 
does not change, but in doctrine and in rites she always re- 
mains the same, our services are now the same as in the times 
of the catacombs. Those candles, then, those lights, those 

1 Petit Rational cle Perin, p. 5. 



12 ANCIENT CUSTOMS. 

tapers, remind t us of the persecutions of the martyrs, of the 
virgins, and of the great saints ; of the times of Nero and of 
Domitian, of Trajan and of Maximianus, of Dioclesian and of 
the other persecutors of the Christians in the times of pagan 
Rome. Thus all things in the Church tell us of her antiquity, 
and how the world has changed since she was instituted by 
our Lord. The vestments, the rites, the ceremonies are like 
nothing Ave have at present ; the robes of the clergy, the 
dress of the altar boys, the language, the style of the 
priest's singing, his genuflections, his bending of the head and 
body, his dress and manners appear so quaint, and so pecu- 
liar, — like nothing we have. They are the customs and ways 
of long past ages; they tell us more eloquently than words 
of the antiquity and the age of the Church, of the times of 
the Romans and the Greeks, of the times of the Apostles and 
of Christ. They recall to us somewhat the manners and 
dress of the eastern nations — of Palestine and Syria, teaching 
that there our Church began, that we came from that coun- 
try and go back to olden times. For the long gown called 
the cassock, that covers the priest to his feet, is the garment 
of the Greeks and Romans, 1 like the garments worn to-day 
by the men of the deserts of Africa and of Arabia. The 
white gown is like the clothing of the Arabians ; the cord 
around his waist is the girdle of the Jews and the prophets 
of the Old Law ; the maniple on his left arm is the hand- 
kerchief of the ancients; the garment of silk and gold 
around his neck, is the remains of the ancient pluvial ; over 
all that the beautiful vestment, the chausable, is the remains 
of the toga of the Romans. The tunic of the subdeacon is 
like the clothing of the people of both sexes of ancient Rome; 
the dalmatic of the deacon is the dress of the people of Dal- 
matia. The purple of the bishop, the purple of the senators 
of Rome, and the purple and gold of the ancient kings, the 
red of the cardinal, the gorgeous robes of the emperors, 
while the white garment of the Pope found its type in the 
garments of Aaron, the High Priest of the Lord of Hosts. 
We change not ; we hold to our ancient form and ceremonies. 
The Church will never change. And why ? To tell all men, 
by these ancient customs, and olden forms, and quaint rites, 
that we never changed in anything since the times of the 

1 La Litirrgie Explequ. par. M. l'Ab. Massard. 



TWO SYSTEMS OF CEKEMOJSTES. 13 

first Christians, of Apostles and of Christ. Men tell ns, 
your Church has changed, your religion is not the religion of 
the Apostles and of the first ages, you have not the same -be- 
lief as they in ancient times; you have all changed. But do 
you hear that Latin — that language of the Roman Empire ? 
Do you see those garments of the clergy, observe those cere- 
monies, that music, those genuflections, those quaint and an- 
cient rites, those peculiar forms, all so ancient, so peculiar, 
so different from the ways and the manners of the present 
day? They are the things of the ancient world, the manners 
and the customs of the east, the peculiarities of the people 
of ancient Rome and of Palestine, telling all men that we 
originated in olden times, throwing back in the face of men 
the lie that we have changed, holding with wonderful 
tenacity to these rites, to tell the world how much stronger 
we hold the doctrine of God that we received from our Lord 
on the earth, teaching mankind in the silent but powerful 
eloquence of symbols and of imagery, that we are the same as 
in the times of Apostles and the same as Christ made His 
Church and sent her forth to civilize, christianize, and save the 
human race. 

And looking back over the history of the human race 
we see two great systems of ceremonies, grand and majes- 
tic : the one of the Jewish tabernacle, the other of the 
Catholic Church ; the one foretelling His coming, the 
other telling that He came ; one prefiguring His death, the 
other figuring His death. The ceremonies of the tabernacle 
kept before th,e minds of the Israelites the coming and death 
of Christ ; the ceremonies of the church keep before the 
minds of the Christians His coming and His death. The 
rites and ceremonies of the tabernacle were made by Moses, 
by command of God ; the rites and ceremonies of the Church 
were made by the Apostles, by command of Christ. Thus 
in the centre of the grandest and most sublime rites earth 
ever witnessed stands Christ the God-Man, the greatest per- 
sonage ever walked this earth. These rites are like shadowy 
forms before Him, telling the Jews He was to come, whilst 
they testify to us He came. They all point to that 
greatest act of God — His death upon the cross for the 
redemption of the human race. 

Thus in the beginning, when with a mighty hand the 



14 CEREMONIES NATURAL TO MAN. 

Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt and out of 
the house of bondage, when they had seen His wonders 
and His mighty power, when their leader, Moses, went up 
the mountain, and fov forty days walked with God, the 
people had no rites or ceremonies ; they fell into idolatry ; 
they made a golden calf and adored it, showing how neces- 
sary it is for man to see his religion in signs and figures, in 
rites and ceremonies. And when their lawgiver, Moses, 
came down the mount, by command of God he made them 
ceremonies, rites, and religious forms and observances 1 filled 
with meanings, loaded with truth, signifying their religion, 
foretelling the Saviour, prefiguring the ceremonies of the 
Church of God. Thus you see our rites and ceremonies 
came from God in the rites and ceremonies of the tabernacle 
of Moses. 

And this is written deep in the nature of man. We 
must have sensible signs and figures, for we are partly spirit- 
ual and partly corporal — spiritual in our souls, corporal in 
our bodies. And the truths of religion are spiritual, and the 
rites and ceremonies are corporal ; yet as the soul is contained 
in the body, so the truths of religion are contained in the rites 
and ceremonies of the Church. And this is seen in every- 
day life. Business, law, contracts, agreements, in fact all 
things among men, are carried out according to forms, and 
signs and ceremonies are everywhere around us. Thus our 
nature requires it ; thus religion requires rites and cere- 
monies ; and show me a religion without rites and ceremonies, 
and I will show you a people drifting rapidly toward infidelity 
and the denial of all religion. 

1 St, Thomas 1. 2 q. 98, Art 2. 



CHAPTER II 



REASONS FOR THE CHURCH AND ITS PARTS. 

rpHE Church, spread throughout the world, has her doc- 
-*- trines which she received from Christ and the Apostles, 
and she engraves these on her buildings, and tells them in 
her ceremonies, that by forms, and shapes, and rites, we 
might learn truth and things that are spiritual by things that 
are sensible. The Church then is of two kinds, one the 
material church, the building wherein the services are 
said, the other the spiritual Church, all the faithful united 
by the pastors to one head on earth, the Pope, and through 
him to the head of all in heaven, Jesus Christ ; "Cod who 
maketh men of one manner to dwell in a house." x As 
the natural house is made of many pieces and parts and 
materials, thus the spiritual Church scattered through the 
world, is made of many peoples of many nations. Church in 
Greek means to call together, for she calls all nations, all men 
into her fold. Church then signifies more the spiritual, 
"the mountain of the Lord elevated on the top of moun- 
tains," 8 than the material building, as men are called together, 
not stones or wood. Again the word catholic, as rendered 
in the ancient Greek, means universal, as it was at all times 
spread throughout the world, and as it teaches all truths and 
always the same; the same now as in the times of the Apostles, 
and because all believing in God and worshipping Him in the 
right way, are of the church, gathered in from all nations and 
all tongues 3 and because in it are all the doctrines and things 
taught by Christ and the Apostles. 

The Church of the Old Law, established by command 
of God, was called the Synagogue, from the Greek word 
that means to gather together, like a flock of animals, be- 

i Psalm LXVII. 7, 2 Isaias ii, 2, 3 Isaias ii. 2, 



16 THE CHUECH. 

cause the Jews were a beastly people; "the Jews, because 
they were carnal, were said to be gathered together like a 
flock of beasts; the christians, because they are spiritual, are 
said to be called like creatures endowed with reason." * The 
word church has many meanings. Sometimes it means the 
union of the godly; " let his praise be in the church of the 
saints;" 2 sometimes- the gathering of the wicked ; "Ihaye 
hated the assembly of the wicked." 3 

The Church is made up of all men serving God in a true 
manner. It is formed of the Christians on earth, of the souls 
in purgatory, and of the blessed in heaven. Divided thus 
in three parts, the Church on earth is the fighting Church, 
fighting against the enemies of salvation; the Church in 
purgatory is the suffering Church, suffering the pains or 
that fire that purifies them before they see God ; the Church 
in heaven is the rejoicing Church, rejoicing with God the 
Saviour. 4 But these are not three, churches, but one and 
the same; for by the sweet doctrine of the communion or 
saints, we are all united in this world and in the other, so 
that death does not part us. Here on earth the Church is 
composed of those who believe in the teachings of God ; 
hence it is called the Church of God. In the words of an 
ancient writer, "It is the glorious city of God, living by 
faith, 5 founded on the onchangeableness of the eternal truths, 
now waiting through patience 6 till justice be changed into 
judgment." 7 This city of God, this Church/ has within 
her motherly bosom all holy ones who lived from the be- 
ginning of the world up to our time; before Christ they were 
saved " by belief in a Redeemer to come, and by keeping the 
commandments ; " 9 since His going up to heaven they have 
been saved by living within the church 'He founded, and 
hearing His teachings, and'by receiving her sacramnets. 

And that Church he made on earth, his "kingdom on 
earth," is like a society. A society is a union of many 
tending toward the same end; 10 for example, a nation, a 
government, is a society, as with united strength they' all 

1 S. Aug. Coment. in Epistolam ad Komanos. 

2 Psalm CXLIX. 1. 3 Psalm XXV. 5. 

4 Schouppe Theo. Dogm. Tract de Const. Eccl. 5 Sr. Aug. de Civit Dei, Praef. 

6 Ad. Pom. viii. v. 25. ' St. Aug. De Civitate Dei Prafacio. 
8 St. Aug. De Civitate Dei. passim. s Butler's Catechism, 

10 Schoup. Dog. Theo. De Const. Eccl, 



THE NAMES OF THE CHUECH. 17 

help each other for mutual benefit. But their object is 
happiness in this world, while that of the Church is not of 
this earth, for His "kingdom is not of this world," 1 but 
for the world, to come. For this the Church was made as 
a society, formed by Christ that he might till the end of the 
world lead all faithful believers to the happiness of 
heaven. 2 

The Church is called by many names in the Bible, and 
by the ancient Fathers. Sometimes it is called Jerusalem, 
for as the word Jerusalem in Hebrew signifies a vision of 
peace, so the Church is the beginning of the vision of peace 
in our future home beyond the skies. Sometimes it is called 
the celestial Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, 3 because 
it comes from heaven to earth filled with celestial doctrines 
of heavenly things. Sometimes it is called the house of God, 
for it is the house of the Son of God, " whose delights were 
to be with the children of men." 4 Sometimes it is called 
the Basilica, as in Rome, that is a royal house, for the 
basilicas of ancient Rome were halls of justice, where judg- 
ment was given to the people. 5 Here in the church the 
justice of God is preached to the people, and the sacraments 
that make us just are given. Sometimes it is called a royal 
house, for the King of kings inhabits it and makes of the 
altar his throne. Sometimes it is called a temple, 6 that is, 
in ancient language, having a wide and extensive roof, and 
truly it has a large and spreading roof, like the branches of 
the mustard seed; it covers all the earth, and shelters all 
people. Sometimes it is called a tabernacle, 7 that is, made 
of tents, put up in a hurry, to shelter from the weather. 
It shelters us from the storms of error, and we are travellers 
on the earth. Sometimes it is called a house of prayer, 8 for 
there we pray and send up our desires toward heaven. Some- 
times it is called the Spouse of Christ, 9 for it came out of 
His side by the waters of baptism and the blood of redemp- 
tion when asleep in death on the cross. 10 Such, then, are some 
of the beautiful names of the Church, the spouse of Christ, 
the virgin wedded to the perfect man, Jesus — more perfect 

1 John, xviii. 36. 2 Crasson's Elementa Juris, Can. Lib. 1. 3 Apoc. xxi. 2. 

4 Prov. viii. 31. 5 Petit Rational par Perin, p. 5. 

6 S. Aug. Eneratio in Psalm CXXXI. 3. 7 St. Aug. in Epist. Joan, at Parth.T II 3. 

8 Math, xxi 13. y S. Aug. De Baptis. Con. Donat Mi. 99. 

10 S. Chrysostome, Lectio IV. in Festo Pretio Sang. D. N. J. in Brevario. 



18 FIGURES OF THE CHURCH. 

and more faithful than Eve, the immaculate and virgin spouse 
of Adam, as she came forth from the side of our sleeping 
father. 

She is the spouse of Christ, then, for "he that hath the 
bride is the bridegroom." 1 Again she is our Mother, as daily 
she brings forth her children by the waters of baptism, for 
thus they are born again of water and of the Holy Ghost. 2 
Again, she is the daughter, for " instead of thy fathers, sons 
are born to thee, thou shalt make them kings over all the 
earth." 3 Again she is a mountain, for "in the last days the 
mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the 
top of mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, 
and all nations shall flow unto it." 4 Again, she is a city on a 
mountain, "foracitytbatis set on a mountain cannot be hid." 5 
Again, she is the city, the holy Jerusalem coming down out 
of heaven, "from God, prepared as the bride adorned for her 
husband," 6 the Church prepared to be the bride of the Lamb 
without spot, and He shall dwell in her, for : " Behold the 
tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them, and 
they will be his people, and God himself with them shall be 
their God." 7 Such, then, are some of the descriptions of the 
Church and figures in the scripture as explained by the 
Fathers, instructed by apostolic men. 

The Jewish law and the ceremonies of the temple and the 
tabernacle were figures of things in the Church, for " these 
things were done in a figure of us." 8 

The Church then is the reality, and contains within 
her all once in the Jewish law, and more, that is, all that 
Christ taught the Apostles. God told Moses and he made a 
tabernacle 9 and divided it into three parts, the Vestibule, 
the Holies, and the Holy of Holies. The Vestibule where 
the people stood, the Holies where the priests ministered, and 
the Holy of Holies where the High Priest entered once 
each year. And when the tabernacle had grown old, and 
when through the lapse of ages its beauties had grown dim, 
God commanded Solomon 10 to build his temple. From both, 
from Moses' tabernacle and from Solomon's temple, our 
churches take their forms and shapes. 11 The Vestibule tells of 

1 John iii. 29. 2 John in. 5. 3 Psalms XLIV. 17. 4 Isaias ii. 2. 

5 Matt. v. 14. B Apoe.xxi. 2. 7 Apoc, xxi. 3. s I Cor. x. 6. 

^Exod. xxvi. 10 II. Kings, vii. 13. » Petit Rational par Perm. p. 1. 



HOW THE CHURCH IS BUILT. 19 

pagan nations not called to the faith ; the nave, the part where 
the people pray and assist, represents the Holies of the 
tabernacle; and the sanctuary, where the clergy assist, minis- 
ter and sacrifice, represents the Holy of Holies. 

The Tabernacle, because it was made during the journey- 
ings of the desert, was a type of this world, 1 for " the world 
passeth away and the concupiscence thereof." 2 It was 
covered with linen colored white, violet, purple and scarlet, 3 
because the world is adorned with three kinds of living 
creatures, the vegetables, the animals, and man. God was 
in the tabernacle colored in this way. God is in the world 
colored in the red blood of Christ. Again, the Tabernacle 
Avas a type of the Church on earth, that is not our home, 
"for Ave have not here a permanent city — but Ave seek 'one to 
come." 4 Like the Israelites, Ave are travelling toward our 
promised land, heaven. Thus the Church is called a 
tabernacle. A tabernacle is a tent. Those av-Iio go to war 
live in tents. We are at war, Ave are fighting, Ave are 
the church militant on earth; therefore the church is appro- 
priately called a tabernacle. God Avas in the tabernacle. 
God is in the church, on the altar That part of the Taber- 
nacle in which the people entered was a figure of the 
active life. _ That part of the Tabernacle in Avhich the 
Levites ministered, represented the contemplative life, that 
is, the people entirely devoted to God's service, as the clergy 
and the religious orders. The Tabernacle was changed 
into the temple. From this life Ave will be taken up into the 
"temple not made Avith hands." 5 Such are the symbolic 
things seen by the fathers. 6 Thus the church is built. Its 
foundations are laid deep. "The house of God is AA r ell 
founded on a firm rock," 7 " and the rock Avas Christ." 8 When 
the church is built, the bishop, or a priest, by his permission, 
sprinkles the Avhole church with holy Avater in order to de- 
stroy all diabolic Avorks and drive away the powers of dark- 
ness. It should be built such that the altar is in the east 
end ; thus the people looking to it look towards the east, 
and Paradise was in the east, to that Ave are looking ; and 
because the Church is looking for the coming of the Son of 

1 Petit Rational, par, Perin p. 6. 2 I, John, ii. 17 * Exocl. xxvi. 1. 

4 Heb. xin. 14. 5 Acts, xvii. 24. e Petit Rational, par Perin, p. 6. 

7 Breviar. Rom. In Dedica. Eccl.v. 6 1. Cor. x. 4. 



20 THE BUILDING A FIGURE OP THE CHURCH. 

God, who on the last day will come "in the east with great 
power and majesty," and if "Jerusalem which is built as a 
city, which is compact together," like the ancient tabernacle, 
how much more should the Church, the true Jerusalem, be 
beautifully built; " the house of the Lord," 2 whose " founda- 
tions are in the holy mountains;" * that is, the foundations of 
the Church are the " Apostles and the prophets," 4 that like 
mountains tower toward heaven above all men. And if the 
" Lord loveth the gates of Sion above the. tabernacle of 
Jacob," b it is because God loves the prophets and the 
apostles, founders of the Church, more than the sons of Jacob, 
founders of the Synagogue. For that heavenly Jerusalem 
was seen by St. John, coming down from heaven, having 
" twelve foundations, and in them the twelve names of the 
twelve apostles of the Lamb." 6 

Thus the material church, the building, by its form and 
by its parts, tells us of the Church formed of all nations 
from the four quarters of the world, coming to make up the 
church God built upon the Apostles as its foundation ; 7 all 
destined to make that other more perfect Church, praising 
God in heaven, of which the building is but a figure. . 

And when the Jews, building again the walls of Jerusalem 
after the captivity, as foretold by the prophet, 8 being at- 
tacked by their enemies, with one hand they worked, and 
with the other they held their swords and fought/ thus 
should our lives be in building up the house of God on earth, 
in preparing ourselves to be parts of the true Jerusalem in 
heaven; Ave must fight against temptation, against bad men, 
and against the attacks of the enemies of our salvation. Hence 
in building up our spiritual sanctification, we must hold in our 
hands our arms ; that is, we must " put on the armor of God ;" : 
"having for oui girdle truth, our breast-plate justice, our 
shield faith, our sword the word of God." " Thus to the end 
of our lives must we fight, and in our last moments may the 
priest of God be with us, having the power of Jesus, whose 
vicar he is, that he may fortify us with the holy sacraments 
and teach us how to die. 



J Psalm CXX1. 3. 5 L Tim. iii. 15 s Psalm LXXXVI. 1. 

^ Ephes. ii. v. 20. 5 Psalm LXXXVI. 2. ° Apoc. xxi. II. 

T Petit Rational par Perm. 8 Daniel, ix. 25. 9 II Esdras iv. 17. 
ip Ephes. vi. 11, "Ephes. vi. 14, 15, 16. 



THE M AKIN G OF THE TA1BEKNACLE. 21 

Gocl speaking to Moses in the desert, told him of what to 
make the tabernacle. "Speak to the children of Israel, that 
they bring the first fraits to me ;'" "The first fruits," that 
is, whatever is precious among the people, showing us how we 
should love our Lord and his Church, and how liberal we 
should be in offering precious things to build our churches. 
Moses " took gold, silver, brass, violet, purple, scarlet twice 
dyed," 2 that is to make the color lasting, " fine linen" that is 
a kind of Egyptian linen of the finest quality ; "goat's hair, 
and ram's skin dyed red ;" the Parthians found out the way of 
Coloring skins, "violet skins, and setim wood ;" setim is "the 
name of a mountain on which a very light wood grew, 
which neither rots or burns ; "oil to make lights, spices, in- 
cense, precious stones, and they shall make me a sanctuary, 
and I will dwell in the midst of them ; according to all the 
likeness of the tabernacle which I will show thee." 3 Such was 
the order of God to make a tabernacle. *- 

That tabernacle was divided into three parts. In the east 
the porch, in the middle the Holies, in the west the Holy 
of Holies. That one tabernacle of God and that one people 
of Israel, signified one Church, the Catholic, one people, the. 
Catholics. The Holy of Holies told of that higher and spiritual 
world heaven which we see not, and for that reason it was 
shut off by a veil. The Holies told of the Christian Church and 
her great doctrines, and for that reason the priests ministered 
in the Holies, for the clergy only know the mysteries of God, 
" to you it is givcm to know the mysteries of God, but to them 
only dimly." 4 The porch told of the people, for there they 
worshipped, while the priests entered into the Holies, a figure 
of the priests now worshipping in the sanctuary , while the 
people are in the body of the church. The Holy of Holies was 
separated from the Holies by a veil, to tell the people that 
heaven was shut against them ; the High Priest entering 
once each year behind that veil told in figurative meaning of 
the great High Priest Jesus entering heaven at his ascension. 
And when the people came to offer sacrifice they gave it to the 
priest of the tabernacle and it was offered by his hands, to 
tell all future generations that not the people but the priest 
must offer sacrifice. 

That Holy of Holies was toward the west, for the altars in 

1 Exod. xxv. 2. 2 Exod. xxv. 3, 4, 5. 3 Exod. xxv. 1 to 9. 4 Matt. xiii. 11. 



'22 THE TABERNACLE A FIGURE OF OUR CHURCH. 

the pagan temples were toward the east. In it were the 
Ark of the Covenant, a picture of the tabernacle on our 
altars. It had the cup of manna, a figure of the Eucharist in 
the Ciborium; Aaron's rod, a figure of the priestly power, 
for as only Aaron's sons could minister at the altar of God in 
the Old Law, so only those who are Apostles* sons can serve 
our altars ; that is, those who descend from the Apostles by 
the spiritual generation of ordination, as Aaron's sons de- 
scended from him by natural generation. The tables of 
stone having the Ten Commandments, telling of the power 
of the priesthood to teach the people the law of God. Oh 
the side of the Ark was the book of the law, foretelling the 
Mass-book on the side of our altar. The seven-branched 
candle-stick lighted up the Holies, prefiguring the light s we 
have upon our altars. On either side of the mercy-seat bent 
the images of the Seraphim in silent awe and adoration, 
telling of the images we now have on our altars, in our 
Church. The mercy-seat, or propitiatory, signified our Lord 
for "he is the propitiation for our sins'' 1 and with reason 
did the Cherubims bow toward the mercy-seat, for "' ail 
the angels of God adore him." 2 He was represented by the 
ark, for as the ark was made of setim wood, which would not 
rot, thus his body was made of purest blood from the body of 
the Virgin; that Ark was covered with gold, for the Saviour 
was filled with grace and truth, signified by gold. Tfithin was 
a golden urn; in that body of Christ was a perfect soul ; that 
urn was filled with manna, that soul ^vas filled with holiness and 
sanctity. Aaron's rod was in the ark, that is the sarcedotal 
power forever — the priestly power, for he was a priest forever. 
There were the tables of the law made by Moses the lawgiver, 
because Christ is the great lawgiver. The candlesticks lighted 
up the tabernacle, for Christ is 'the true light of the world, 
which enlighteneth every man that ccmeth into the world.' s 
The bread upon the table told us of Christ the " living bread." 4 
Again these foretold and prefigured things that would come in 
the fulness of time, when God would found a Church. The 
lamp with its seven branches told of the seven gifts of the Holy 
Spirit poured out upon the world — of wisdom, fortitude, 
knowledge, piety, counsel, understanding, and the fear of the 
Lord. 5 That light in the Holies was a figure of the lights 

1 1 John ii. 2. * Heb. i. 6. 3 Joan 1. 9. ' John xi. 41 5 leans, rii C. 



THE MEANING OE THE TABERNACLE. 23 

upon the altar, of the candles used in the service of the 
Church; the rod of Aaron that blossomed, the root of Jesse, 
the Virgin who brought forth the Lord ; the altar of incense 
the prayers of the Church and of the faithful ascending ever 
up before the throne of grace ; the High-Priest, the Bishop; 
the priests, the priests of the New Law; the levites, 
the inferior clergy; the Holy of Holies, the sanctuary; the 
Holies, the nave where are the people; the Ark of the Covenant, 
the altar; the Cherubims, the images and the statues; the 
golden vase in the Ark, the Ciborium; and the manna the 
Holy Eucharist. 

The tabernacle itself was made of boards raised on end, 
covered with curtains ; white, violet, purple and scarlet 
twice dyed. These curtains covered only the sides of the 
tabernacle. The roof was protected with rarns'-skins dyed, 
over that a curtain of violet-colored skins, and then a third of 
goats' hair descending to the ground, hiding the boards. That 
tabernacle was full of mystic meaning. The boards that 
built the tabernacle signified the .faithful of Christ who 
build., the Church. Those boards were covered with veils, 
dyed in four colors, for Christ's people are ornamented with 
four principal virtues: white, purity of the flesh; purple, 
passions subject to reason, violet twice dyed, their hearts 
filled with love of God and of neighbor. The covering of the 
roof told of the teachers and great saints of God, whose 
example we must follow in the Church: violet, heavenly 
teachings; red, their promptness to suffer martyrdom; the goats' 
hair, their patience in the trials and afflictions of this life. 

In the Old Law were seven feasts ordained by God. 1 There 
was the continual feast, the never ceasing solemnity, in which 
the victims were immolated morning and evening in the sacri- 
fices ; it was the continual sacrifice, and by this was worship 
paid to God for his goodness, daily and nightly showered 
down upon his people ; there was the feast of the Sabbath, 
the rest of Saturday, every Sabbath for the perpetual holo- 
caust, 2 to remind the people of their creation, and of the rest 
of God on the seventh day; there was the feast of the new 
moon, to recall his providence guiding all, and this was cele- 
brated in the beginning of the new moon, not in the full* 
to prevent idolatry, as the pagans adored the moon when full. 

* Numbers, xxviii, xxix. z Deut. v. 12. 



24 FEASTS OF THE OLD LAW PREFIGURED OURS. 

These feasts were celebrated frequently ; they were in 
memory of things to all nations and to allpeoples. The follow- 
ing feasts were for the benetits conferred especially on the 
Jewish people, They bad the feast of the Phase the four- 
teenth of the first month, for a remembrance of their deliver- 
ance from Egypt ; they had the feast of Pentecost, to com- 
memorate the giving of the law on Mount Sinai ; they had 
the feast of the Trumpets, in memory of the finding of the 
ram offered in place of Isaac ; they had the feast of Expiation 
as a memorial of the forgiveness of the sin of adoring the golden 
calf made by Aaron; and lastly, they had the feast 
of the Tabernacles, for the guidance and protection of God 
during their journeys in the desert whilst they lived in tents. 
There were figurative meanings in all these. The perpetual 
sacrifice told of the sacrifice of the Mass, " Christ yesterday and 
to-day : and the same forever ;" ' by the Sabbath was" pre- 
figured the spiritual rest ; " there remaineth, therefore, a 
day of rest for the people of God ;" s the feast of the new 
moon, the illumination of the primitive church by the preach- 
ing and miracles of Christ ; the feast of Pentecost, the 
descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles ; the solemnity of 
the feast of the Trumpets, the preaching of the Apostles ; of 
the Tabernacles, their journeys in various parts of the world. 
And these feasts were held each year, for they were to increase 
day by day in virtue. For ; " blessed is the man whose help is 
from thee ; in his heart he hath dis])osed to ascend by steps 
in the vale of tears * * * for the lawgiver shall give ablessing, 
they shall go on from virtue to virtue." s All these festivities 
were that they might become more and more holy before God, 
and figure the feasts instituted by the Church. 

Such was the origin of our Church. God Himself gave the 
model ; God Himself laid down the plan ; God Himself was 
the architect, in telling Moseshowtoformits model, thetaber- 
nacle. Anil all these ceremonies, and all these rites, and all 
these grand sacrifices and religious rites of the Old L?,w 
were figures of the rites and ceremonies in our church. 
There was one nation chosen, for there is but one Chnreh, 
There were twelve fathers of twelve tribes, for there were 
twelve apostles. There were twelve minor prophets m the 

1 Heb. xiii. 8. 2 Heb= iv. 9. 3 Psalm LXXXIII . 6, 7, 8. 



OTHER MEANINGS (9& THE CHURCH. 25 

Old Law, for there were twelve apostles in the new. Thus 
"all these things happened to them in figure." 1 

Again the Church is sometimes likened to a human body. 
The sanctuary is the head, the transept on either side like the 
shoulders and arms, the nave going down to the door, 
the body. The sacrifice of the altar like the sacrifice of 
a pure heart. Again, says another author, 2 the Church is 
divided into three parts representing the three kinds of 
people making up the Church throughout the world . the vir- 
gins, the single who are pure, and the married. The place 
near the altar, small, represents the virgins, small in number ; 
the sanctuary, larger, tells us of the holy ones not virgins 
but living chaste single lives ; the body of the Church tells 
us of the greater number married, and called to be married. 
Those who are married, and obey God's laws are holy, 
those who live chaste, single lives are holier still, like the 
sanctuary ; but the virgin's place is near to the altar, which is 
Christ; "they are virgins; these follow him whither he 
goeth." 3 Such are the three grades of Christians in the Church.* 
The married life is a holy state, but they will have " tribula- 
tion of the flesh ;" 5 the chaste life is more perfect and more 
holy, for those who are thus live as St. Paul himself recom- 
mends ; but the more perfect is the virgin, for that the Son of 
God came of a virgin father in heaven, and of a 
virgin mother on earth, and he remained himself a virgin to 
tell us how he loved virginity. 
. The steeple pointing up toward heaven says to all, there is. 
your home ; on its top the cross tells us that the cross is the 
crown, and that there is no glory like that of the cross; it is 
the standard of the Christians ; " the sign of the Son of 
Man," ' the instrument of redemption. The signs and the ideas 
of other religions may change, they may hate the cross and 
banish it from the houses of worship, but it has been from 
the beginning of the Church the sign of salvation, and 
from the time of Constantine the glory of Christendom. In 
the tower is the bell whose sound is like the preacher's voice, 
telling the people of passing time, telling us that we are all 
going toward eternity, from whence we will never more return 

1 I. Cor. s. ii. 2 Richard de S. Victor. 3 Apoc. xiv. 4. 

4 S. Aug. De Civit. Dei, L, I. Cap. xxvii » I. Cor, vii. 38. 6 S. Math. xxiv. 30. 



26 CHATEAUBRIAND* ON CHURCH BELLS. 

to take our place again upon the earth. Again the bell of 
brass is like the silver trumpets of the ancient JeAvish rite, 
to call the people to their prayers, and to the services of the 
Church. 1 Made first in Nola, a city of Campania, bells were 
called campanse in ancient times. As all things used in the 
service of the church are blessed, so also the bells are blessed, 
sprinkled with holy water, and anointed with oil, that the 
Lord may give their sound a power and a virtue to excite all 
within hearing to come to church. As the soldiers on 
the campaign have their bugles to call their comrades to 
the ranks, so the Church uses the bells to call the people to 
he-r services. The bells are rung in the morning, at noon, and 
at night ; these are the Angelus bells. And what is the 
Angelus? It is the Angelic salutation, the announcement 
of the mystery of the Incarnation by an Angel to Mary, the 
mother of our Lord, 2 and by the sound of the bells three times a 
day we are reminded of our redemption, that began by the 
angel addressing Mary. How beautiful and how sweet is 
the sound of the bell. " How often in the calm of night the 
toll of the bell rung to tell of a dying Christian has appeared 
like the light "pulsations of a dying heart to a sinner. How 
often has it penetrated even to the ear of the atheist on the 
point of writing that blasphemy, there is no God. The pen 
drops from his hand, he hears with terror the toll for the 
dying that seems to say to him, Is that so, there is no God ? 
What a strange religion, that the sound of a magic bell 
can change pleasure into pain, frighten the atheist, and strike 
the dagger from the hand of the assassin ! On Sundays and 
holidays, Avho has not heard the sound of the church bells 
wafted over hill and vale, calling people to church. Lean- 
ing against a tree Ave often listened to its sweetness. Each 
vibration of the metal recalls to us the innocence of rural 
life, the calm of solitude, the charm of religion, and the 
sweet melancholy of our first infant days. Oh, what heart is 
so hardened that does not rejoice at the sound of the bells of 
his native village, those bells that trembled with joy at his 
birth, announcing his coming into the Avorld, marking the first 
beat of his heart, publishing the holy joy of his father, the 
more ineffable joys and pains of his mother ? All comeback 
to us at the sound of the bell of our native village, religion, 

* Petit Rational par Perin, p. 9. 2 Luke, i. 26 to 38. 



WHAT THE SOUND OF THE BELL SIGNIFIES, 27 

family, country, the cradle and the tomb, the past and the 
future." z Such are some of the poetic expressions of the 
gifted son of France defending our holy religion. 

The bell is like the preacher, but the preacher without 
learning and piety is like the bell without its clapper. In 
the words of Gregory the Great, "The priest if he knows 
not the science of preaching is a mute herald, he is even a mute 
dog, not able to bark.'' If he does not give good example 
and live up to what he preaches, he is like " the sounding brass 
and tinkling cymbal ;" 2 and in the words of the Holy Ghost 
lias become a castaway ; for "to the sinner God bath said : 
Why dost thou declare my justice, and take my covenant in 
thy mouth?" 3 Words move, but example draws with irresistible 
force. But, reader, look to the doctrine, and not to the ex- 
ample, and if you see others do bad do not follow their ex- 
ample; the Church does not teach them to do bad, but to do 
good. 

The sound of a bell is a sound of joy. It is rung at the be- 
ginning of the services to note with what joy w T e should 
hasten to attend the divine offices of the Church; it is rung at 
the sanctus to tell us of the joy of the people of Jerusalem 
decorating the road with palms and vestments, and singing : 
" Hosanna to the Son of David ;" it is rung at the sanctus, 
that is at the coming of the three times holy Lord, who is 
going to come to us at the consecration ; it is rung at the 
elevation to tell us with what joy we should bow down our 
heads and hearts at the Son of God present on the altar. No 
bell is heard from Thursday morning in holy week till the 
Gloria in the Mass on Easter Saturday, because then the 
Church is mourning for the death of the Son of God. The bell 
is rung at the Gloria, because we anticipate the rising of 
Jesus from the dead. 

Thus on the borders of Aaron's robe were little bells, tell- 
ing the people of the coming of the priest of the Most High. 
In the Church the bells are rung to call the people to the 
services, like in the old tabernacle and tenrple they were 
called by the sound of the trumpets. 

But the church may be made of different kinds of architec- 
ture. It may be of many plans, yet the general form is always 

1 Chateaubriand's Genius of Christianity, Book IV. Chap. 1. 
? I, Cor. xiii, 1, 3 Psalm XLIX. 16, 



28 THE SIGN OF THE CEOSS. 

given, the porch, the nave and the sanctuary, for it comes 
from its model, the tabernacle and the temple. Those 
ceremonies, those rites, those customs of the Old Law, were 
but figures of the things taking place in the Church. 

At the door of the tabernacle was alaver of water wherein the 
priests washed ;' at the door of the temple of Solomon was a 
brazen .urn 2 filled with water, where the priests bathed to 
purify themselves for the ministry. They were figures of 
baptism. They were placed by command of God. And on en- 
tering the church you see water ; it is a continuation of 
that ancient custom among the J^ews. That water is placed 
at the entrance of the church to remind us of baptism and 
how we were washed from sin at the moment the water 
touched us, " and that we were born again of water and of the 
Holy Ghost." 3 We take the water to put on our foreheads, 
for there it washed us when we were baptized ; we put it on 
the forehead, for that is the noblest part of man : within that 
forehead is the brain, the instrument of the imagination in 
thought, and by that putting on of water we signify that all un- 
holy thoughts are to be driven far from our minds in the church; 
by that water we are reminded of the promises we made at our 
baptism, to renounce the devil with all his works, and all his 
pomps; by the sign of washing ourselves with water we wash 
our souls with sorrow, for all the sins we committed since last 
we entered the church, and that sorrow, sincere and lowly for 
past sins with taking the water wipes out little sins that 
we call venial. We make the sign of the cross. By that we 
signify that we bear the cross on our bodies, like St. Paul 
says: " For I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body." 4 
Thus we as it were bear the cross on our bodies, not the visible 
marks of the wounds made by the nails and the spear, as on the 
bodies of St. Paul, St. Francis of Assisi, and many other saints, 
but by frequently making the sign of the cross on us we say that 
we are Christians, that is followers of Christ carrying our cross. 
Putting our fingers in that water, blessed and sanctified by 
the prayers of God's ministers, first we put our hand and 
touch our foreheads. There is the dwelling of knowledge. We 
touch the forehead first because we must first have a knowl- 
edge of God; then our breast, because after knowing God we 
must love him — the heart is the seat of love; then the left and 

* Exod. xixviii. 1. 2 jhj Kin^s, vi. 23 to 27. 3 John iii. 5, 4 Gal. vi. 17. 



THE BLESSING OF A CHURCH. 29 

right shoulders, the sign of work and labor, for after know- 
ing God and loving Him, shown forth by the forehead and 
the heart, we must work for Him with our hands, signified by 
touching the shoulders, saying : "In the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," 1 the Trinity, the 
Three in One ; in the name, not the names, to show that 
there are not three Gods, but one God, not three natures or 
substances in God, but one nature and one substance, and 
for that reason we say in the name, the singular number, telling 
that there is but one God-head in the three divine Persons. 

When the church is about to be built, the corner-stone is 
laid, and what is this corner-stone but Christ ? " for the 
rock was Christ," 2 and he is " the stone which the builders 
rejected, the same is become the head of the corner," 3 and 
the Church of wmich he is the corner-stone is not the build- 
ing, but the Church of God throughout the whole world. Then 
the ceremonies of laying the corner-stone tell of Christ the 
corner-stone of the Church. 

And when the church is built, it may be blessed for a 
time, till all debts are paid, when it will be consecrated for- 
ever to the service of Almighty God, as the place of his 
residence. The church must not be consecrated until it be 
free from debt, 4 otherwise it might fall into the hands of bad 
men, who would use it for a profane end. The church may 
be blessed by a priest sent for that purpose by the bishop, 
but only a bishop can consecrate a church. 5 The blessing 
and the consecration of the church come to us from the Old 
Law, for Ave read that when Moses by command of God made 
the tabernacle he consecrated it with its altars and its table 
and all things used in the worship of God ; not only did he 
consecrate them by prayers, but he anointed them with oil, 
for God commanded him that he should make chrism and 
anoint all these, with the ark of the Covenant, and the taber- 
nacle of the Lord." Thus was the ancient church of the 
Israelites consecrated in the desert, thus also did Solomon 
consecrate the temple" and all things in it to the Lord ; thus 
also do we bless and consecrate our churches to the service 
of Almighty God. 

1 Math, xxviii. v. 19. 2 I. Cor. x 4. * Math. xxi. 42. - 

4 I. Quest . I. Non est putanda. 5 Benedic. xiv. De S. Missse. Sacrif. Cap. I. ii. 1. 

6 i^xod. xl. et. xxx. 25, 26. 7 III, Kings, viii. 



30 CEREMONIES OF THE CONSECRATION. 

And for many and for good reasons are our churches con- 
secrated : that the spirits of darkness may be driven from the 
place set apart forever to the service of the Lord ; that the 
prayers of those who pray there may be heard, as Solomon 
prayed that the Lord might hear 'those who prayed there ; 
•that the praises of the Lord of Hosts may there be said and 
sung ; J that there the sacraments may be administered to the 
people;, that there God may dwell and it be his house, and the 
resting place of His Majesty. And in the tabernacle there 
was no place for God to be, but he was supposed to rest upon 
the mercy-seat, because all these were figures, but here he 
dwells in the tabernacle on the altars of our churches. And 
God does not require a place, for the heavens and the earth 
cannot contain him, but man's condition is such that he re- 
quires a temple and a place where he can say God dwells. 

All the grand and majestic rites of the consecration of a 
church are found in the Pontifical. 

Ali having gone out, the deacon remains alone in the 
church, the clergy with the bishop standing before the 
door of the church, on the outside. The latter blesses the holy 
water. Twelve candles are lighted around the interior walls. 
The bishop, with the clergy and the people, go around the 
outside walls sprinkling them with holy water. Each time 
he comes to the door, striking it with his pastoral staff, he 
says : "Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, 
O eternal • gates, and the King of glory shall enter in!" 2 
The deacon within asks: "Who is this King of glory?"" 
To this the bishop answers : "The Lord, who is strong and 
mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle !"* The third time this is 
said, the doors are opened, and the bishop with his ministers 
enter saying : " Peace be to this house." ' The deacon re- 
plies : " In thy coming in.' - Then the Litany is said, and the 
Lord is asked to bless the house. Then from one cornerMo 
the other, and crossing from the other corner to its opposite, 
ashes are sprinkled in the form of an X on the floor of the 
church, while in the ashes the bishop writes the Greek and 
Latin alphabets. Let us see the meanings of these cere- 
monies. 



i III. Kinsrs, Yin. 2 p sa ] m XXIII. /, 3 Psalm XXIII. 8. 

4 Psalm XXIII. 8, 6 Math. X. 12. 



MEANING OF THE RITE OF CONSECRATION. 31 

The church is sprinkled with holy water, for as water 
washes us from sin and delivers us from the power of the 
evil one, as water received power from contact with the most 
holy body of Our Lord at his baptism, thus the church is 
sprinkled with water to be cleansed from all bad influences. 
It is sprinkled three times, for three times is the water poured 
upon our heads in baptism. The water is mixed with salt, 
for salt tells us of wisdom according to the words of the 
Lord, "you are the salt of the earth," : and again "have salt in 
you and have peace among you," 2 signifying the knowledge of 
God and the wisdom of heavenly things taught by the Church. 
With his crosier then the bishop strikes three limes at the 
door of the church, for he signifies Christ, who has the right 
to enter his Church for His three acts toward her: He created 
her, He redeemed her, He sanctified her.- Or again, the 
bishop thus striking the door of the Church signifies the 
preaching of the Gospel striking the ears of the hearers, for 
the ears are the doors of the soul. And asking the princes to 
open the doors for the King of Glory, is for men to open their 
souls to the Gospel of Christ. The marking of the floor of 
the church with an X, in which the Greek and Latin alphabets 
are written, tells of the scriptures written in these ancient 
languages, — in the form of a cross, that all relate to the cross 
and the crucifixion of Christ. It tells again of the two testa- 
ments completed by the cross. That cross is drawn in the 
form of an X, that is passing from one corner to the other, 
telling of the ministry of the cross, and the Christian religion 
passing from the Jews to the Gentiles. The twelve candles 
burning on the walls tell of the light of the Gospel spread 
throughout the whole world by the preaching of the twelve 
Apostles. And although we read that three times the tem- 
ple of the Jews was consecrated: once under Solomon, once 
under Darius, and again under the Machabees, nevertheless, 
the church need be consecrated but once, unless it be de- 
stroyed, or something desecrates it, when it must be recon- 
ciled again to God. The altar must be consecrated at the 
same time as the church, but we will speak of the conse- 
cration of the altar in another place. Such are a few expla 

1 Matt. v. 13. * Mark ix. 49. 



32 THE KITE OF CONSECKATION. 

nations of the consecration of the church. The scope and size of 
this book will not allow us to give the beautiful prayers and 
ceremonies such as found in the Pontifical relating to the 
consecration of the church and the altar. 



CHAPTER III. 

REASONS FOE THE THINGS IN THE CHUKCH. 

LET us enter the church, gentle reader, and see what is 
within. The church is divided into three parts, like 
the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon, the 
porch or entrance, the body or nave, and the sanctuary. 

The porch represents the infidel world, where those nations 
dwell who have not received the faith; the nave, where are 
the people, signifies the Christian world, those nations that 
have been converted to the religion of Christ; and the 
sanctuary reminds us of heaven. 

The porch or entrance is often dark, with scarce a beauty 
to relieve the eye, a good picture of the darkness and dreari- 
ness of the pagan world, those peoples and those nations not 
yet called to the light of the Gospel The nave in the 
Gothic style is in the form of a cross, because the great 
mystery of the redemption is the mystery of the cross, the 
the great act of the love of God is his death upon the 
cross. Nations and soldiers have their flags and standards ; 
but the standard of the Christian is the cross. Therefore, 
to bring into our minds the death of the Son of Gcd, 
we have in every place the cross, the imsge of the crucifix- 
ion, the figure of the dead body hanging on the cross. 
No one is allowed to say Mass without the crucifix upon 
the altar, no vestment is worn without the cross, no sacra- 
ment is administered without making the sign of the cross . 
You look around, every place that sign of salvation meets 
you. We have it in our houses, we see it in the form of the 
doors and the sashes of the windows ; you find it on the 
top of every church- — everywhere that cross. Why thus? 
To remind us at every moment that all religion, all 
Christianity is founded on that truth, that the Son of God 
died for all mankind on the cross. In describing and telling 
you of this death, words may move you, the most eloquent 



34 MEANING OF THE CRUCIFIX AND PICTURES 

and heart-rending tale of His death may excite you to tears, 
but the most startling and effectual way of exciting pity for 
His death, is the picture of that agony, the head crowned 
with thorns, the countenance pale in death, the visage 
covered with sweat and blood, the hands stretched out, 
the nails driven deep, the side opened, the rough spikes 
driven through the insteps into the wood, all these in 
images or in paintings, move the heart far more deeply, 
and speak far more eloquently than the best sermon. Such 
is the object of the crucifix in the church, and if you some- 
times see. psople bow before this image, it is not adoration ; 
that would be idolatry of the very worst kind. But that 
image represents Jesus Christ, and as you respect a picture 
of your friend, as you put it in the most honorable place, so 
we honor Jesus' picture, not for the picture or the image, but 
for His sake, of whom it is an image. All honor goes to Him, 
"To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be 
honor and glory forever and ever." l And if sometimes 
you hear of Christians honoring the wood of the true cross, 
the holy cloths that were around his sacred Body in the 
tomb, it is not on account of any virtue in these things, 
but because they have been the instruments of his suffering 
and death, and because they have preserved some of his 
bloo^ in them, or the perspiration caused by his agony, or 
because they have such a close relationship with Him ; but 
all that is for the honor of Him, the " King of Ages," and all 
worship that is not of Cod is idolatry. 

Round the sides of the building you will see pictures and 
paintings, they are the pictures of the saints and of the prin- 
cipal scenes in the life of our Saviour. As in your houses 
you have pictures of certain scenes on the wall, so you always 
see fourteen pictures around the church; they are "the princi- 
pal scenes of the passion of Jesus. As you in your houses you 
have sometimes the statues of great men, the "photographs of 
loved ones so is it not just and right that we have the images 
and statues of the great saints, those master minds who shaped 
the destinies of peoples and civilized the nations, that we may 
imitate and love them? And if sometimes b persons kneel before 
these pictures or images, it is not because they adore them, as 

* I. Tim. i. 17. 



WHAT IS SYMBOLISM % 35 

some outside of our religion wrongfully accuse us, as that would 
beidolatiy, which the Church always condemns in the severest 
terms, but they kneel before them, that in praying to God 
they may be moved more to sorrow and compassion for our 
Saviour by a picture of His sufferings. For it is in our na- 
ture to be more excited by a vivid picture of suffering than 
to be told of it in words. They kneel before a picture or an 
image of a saint, not that they expect anything from the 
image, but they are reminded of the saint by his picture, as 
you are reminded of your friend by his photograph. We 
have the pictures of the saints then, to remimlus of their lives 
and teach us by their example. 

We learn truth not only by words, but also by signs and 
figures, by images and emblems, by types and representa- 
tions. That is our nature. Thus the world was created 
that all things in it might be a type, a figure of the perfections 
of God. For God in creating the world stamped on creat- 
ures His own perfections, that man by seeing the beauties of 
the things around might raise his mind to the greatness of 
the Creator, — that seeing the beauties of these, he might 
think of the plans according to which they were made eternal 
and infinite in their Maker, God. — Thus beauty, life, power, 
force, virtue, harmony and everlasting truth form, as it were, 
eternal streams, fresh and limpid, coming forth from God ; 
all nature reflects his glories and his perfections; creatures 
are like so many mirrors reflecting things eternal in the mind 
of their Creator. 1 That is symbolism. Telling of the beau- 
ties and the perfections of things divine, by the symmetry, 
beauty and perfection of the things of this world. 

Such is the object of the Church in ornamenting and 
beautifying her churches, her sanctuaries and her altars, to 
teach man by visible forms the truths of religion — to educate 
him in the knowledge of God, to raise his heart to his Creator, 
to fill him with the things of heaven, to speak to his soul 
throtigtthis senses, to preach to him silent yet eloquent sermons 
by the things around him, to get to his soul by the senses the 
windows through the body which envelops it. Such is the 
object of the ornaments of the Church. 

But in the Church the fine arts flourish; there architecture, 



1 Symbolism, par Mgr. Landriot. 



36 PAINTING, SCULPTUKE AND MUSIC. 

sculpture and music find their home. These are the three 
kinds of beauty acting on the soul of man by the senses of 
seeing and of hearing, the noblest of the five senses, the 
nearest related to the mind. 

Painting is the art of showing the color, shape and outlines 
of things by colors, light and shade. 

Sculpture is the art of cutting the images of things so as 
to present their figures under the outlines of beauty and of 
symmetry. 

Music is the succession of regular sounds, so modulated 
that they please the ear. 

Painting and sculpture — these represent beauty as seen by 
the eye; music is felt by the ear, and if we go farther and ask, 
what is beauty ? I say with the philosophers, that it con- 
sists in a certain arrangement of parts, a proportion of 
things one to the other, adapted to the end for which it 
was made : in other words, beauty is the splendor of 
the form of things having the right proportion.' Splendor 
of form is having a pleasing color, a shade of light pleasing 
to the eye : right proportion consists in a certain symmetry of 
outline, a grace of form, an arrangement of parts, so that all 
is harmony, all adapted to the end for which the creature 
was made. Going farther still, we find that the nature of 
beauty consists in curved lines ; and figures and ornaments 
are more beautiful and pleasing to the eye when made in 
curved lines. And why ? Because the curved line is found 
in nature, and not the straight line — the leaves are curved, 
the limbs of trees, the flowers, the landscape, the forms of 
animals, their movements are made in curves, their limbs, their 
muscles, their veins, the ultimate cells are formed of walls 
made in curves ; the clouds, the rainbow, the shape of the 
earth, its orbit around the sun, everywhere we find that the out- 
lines of all creatures are curved lines. According to that line 
God made the universe, that beauty and harmony might 
shine forth in His works. Things that are beautiful must 
have the right proportion that is adapted to the end for 
which they were destined. Their beauty borders on truth, 
for if the being be not proportioned to attain its end, it is 
not truthful, the symmetry of form is lost, and it is what we 

J Liberatore Instit. Philos. de Pnlcio. 



ORNAMENTS BEAUTIFYING THE HOUSE OF GOD. 37 

call a monstrosity of nature. We can judge of beauty at a 
moment's glance, because there is in us a faculty for the 
beautiful, one of the finest of the soul, a power in us which 
will be satisfied only when we repose in the fountain of all 
beauty, our Creator, God. Then will that aesthetic sense of 
the beautiful be satiated, for in Him are the forms of all 
creatures, the plan and the model according to which all 
things were made, and our eternity will be spent in raptured 
contemplation of everlasting beauties, exhaustless and unceas- 
ing in the mind of God. Such is the destiny of the soul of 
the good Christian, to stand forever and ever before his 
throne, to drink in these draughts of beauty, to see these 
splendors and to pass from one beauty to another without 
ceasing for all eternity. In all the beautiful forms of the 
world around us, according to their color, symmetry of form, 
and proportion of parts, man is the most beautiful, — for him 
all beauty was made, to him was given that power of pre- 
serving the beautiful in nature, in the things around him, 
and not to the animals, for they are prone, inclined to earth, 1 
while man is made for heaven. One-half the plant is in the 
earth, the animal is stretched out upon the ground and looks 
to the earth, from whence he came and whence he is going, 
while man alone is upright, his face he lifts toward heaven, his 
home, and looks around upon the world, his empire. He alone 
can see the beautiful in this world. 

Beauty made by man is seen in sculpture, painting, and 
music. These are the fine arts. They were always cherished 
by the most civilized races and most educated people, and 
their advancement has always been a sign of a civilized and 
cultured race. 

Of old, inspired by God and filled with wisdom, Beseleel 
and Ooliab molded of wood, of silver, and of gold, the orna- 
ments and things required for the beautifying of the taber- 
nacle of God's people, in the desert ; 2 and the ark of the 
Covenant, and the altar of brass, and the altar of incense 
were adorned with carvings, and sculptures, and images ; the 
Cherubims in silent beauty bent over the mercy-seat ; the 
hangings and veils of the Holy of Holies were figured with 
forms of grace, and the golden candlestick and the vessels 



1 Salust Cat. In. 2 Exod. xxxi. 



SB FINE AETS AMONG THE GREEKS. 

for the sacrifices, by command of God, were made with 
symmetry and beauty of form. Thus the fine arts first received 
their birth from the mouth of Godhimself, in the making and 
the decorating of the tabernacle of the ancient people of Israel. 
Such is the most ancient account we have of the fine arts. 

Ages after, when God's people had conquered all their 
enemies and peace dwelt in Israel, Solomon, filled with wis- 
dom, built his temple. ' He adorned that majestic building 
with carvings, sculptures and images ; forms of exquisite 
beauty ornamented it. The images of the Cherubims 
stretched their wings of glittering gold in the Holy of Holies. 
The cedar wood, sent by Hiram, King of Tyre, the altar, the 
utensils, the images, the ceilings, the veils, the very floor, 
were covered with plates of gold, and the glories of the house 
of God filled the earth five centuries from the time when the 
children of Israel left the land of Egypt. 

Will you say that images are forbidden, when God com- 
manded them to be placed in the tabernacle, and Solomon 
made them in the temple ? 

Generations passed. The fine arts rose in the morning 
of Grecian civilization in the schools of Sicyon, .zEgina, and 
Argos. The artists following the teachings of their father, 
Daedalus, with rough tools carved on wood and stone the 
rude forms of things around them. They impressed on 
terra cotta the rough outlines of animals and of men. and 
hardened them in the fires of their huts, and painted them 
in imitation of nature. Such was the birth of the Grecian fine 
arts long before the time of Christ, till at length their master 
and greatest genius, Phidias, rose and shed the beauties of 
his talents over Greece. He took a nobler model than those 
who went before him; for, while they spent their time in' 
molding and painting animals and landscapes, Phidias, en- 
dowed with the highest genius, found his model in the 
noblest of God's creatures^the human form divine. His dis- 
ciples, Scopas, Praxiteles, Lycippus and Polycletus, followed 
his example, and Grecian art became more and more refined. 
The schools of Attica and Argive, of Rhodes, and Prega- 
mees, and Chares, made Greece "the home of sculpture and of 
painting. As ages and generations passed their temples, 

1 m. Kings, \i. ._ . ■ 



THE OKIGHST OF PAINTING. 39 

houses and public buildings became filled with beautiful 
carvings, sculptures, images and statuary, so that at that day 
the Grecian art was the highest and most refined ; no ancient 
nation ever equalled them m the fine arts. The first century 
before Christ they were conquered by the Romans and the 
fine arts found a home forever in imperial Rome. In the 
first ages of Christianity the fine arts made no progress, but 
at length liberty being given to Christianity they flourished 
with greater vigor and shone with brighter splendor. The 
Popes have always been the foster-fathers of the fine arts ; 
the Church has always cherished them, so that at the present 
time, as in the remote ages, Rome has been the centre of the fine 
arts. Thus, to foster sculpture, music and painting, we have 
the statues of the saints in our churches. 

The beginning of painting is lost in the twilight of the 
past, for it began at the time when writing commenced to 
be a way of teaching mankind by signs, figures and pictures ; 
when the Phoenicians, the Assyrians and the Persians flour- 
ished in the east, and kept their records with cuniform char- 
acters and pictures. The oldest examples of paintings are 
found to-day on the walls of the tombs and temples standing 
on the banks of the Nile, monuments of the works of the 
ancient Egyptians. The j>aintings among the ancient Egyp- 
tians were symbolic, that is, they represented by signs and 
figures the belief of the people in their false religion. 

From them the Grecian artists learned to paint ; rude, it 
is true, were their efforts before the Persian conquest, but 
at length, in a few generations, they excelled all others in 
ancient times, and filled their temples with pictures and 
paintings of the gods ; they adorned their shrines with em- 
blems of religion, they decorated the walls of their houses, 
they painted the statues of their gods, they created forms of 
beauty in all their public buildings till Greece "became the 
home of painting and of drawing. Polygnotus was their mas- 
ter and their teacher in the fifth century before Christ. He 
was called the father of the Athenean school. By him were 
trained Dionesius, the portrait painter, Mi con celebrated for 
his horses, Panaenus for his scenery ancl Onatas for his 
landscapes ; these began to put in tone and light and shade 
and outline. Need I tell you of their success? Need I tell 
you that various and many were the schools of painting in 






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of religion, the knowledge of thing - the y told in 

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burned in their hearts. Then each church became an art 
gallery. Adrian L in a bull decreed that I .ould be 

painted with all the beauty that human art could picture him. 
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picture from the symbolical, as the fish, etc., to th:z the 

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pare with them? Where in this deseur 



THE HISTORY OF MUSIC. 41 

an equal to Raphael, or to Fra Angelico, the painter -monk? 
What but the Church could inspire them? What but the relig- 
ion divine could furnish them subjects ? ISTow the painters 
have degraded; from painting the human form divine as in 
the olden times, they have descended to animals; from the 
purity and noble grace of the Virgin to the half-nude form of a 
sensual Venus, from angels to dogs, from the last judgment 
to a drunken feast, from heavenly scenes to where sensual 
pleasures are gratified. Why is Italy the centre of fine 
arts? Why is it that there music, sculpture and painting 
have found their home ? Because there, in the centre 
of the Christian Church, they have been fostered by 
the Popes. Thus religion purifies not only painting, but 
there music finds its highest inspiration. 

' Music took its rise among the savage tribes, and seemed at 
first but the efforts of untutored nature to give voice to that 
regularity of sound, to that harmony of tone, and to that 
love of sweetness in the heart of man. The oldest histories 
and legends tell us of the rude efforts of the half-civilized 
nations to charm by music, in the by-gone ages ; of the music 
of the Hindoos, the Chinese and the Japanese in the cen- 
turies before Christ; of how Kouie, Confucius and Hoang-ti, 
the Emperor, labored on it and made it nearly what it is to- 
day in those countries; of the Egyptians thinking that the 
musical scale related to the signs of the Zodiac; of Persian 
musicians travelling from place to place through the cities, 
villages and hamlets of Asia; of the Hindoos singing and 
reciting their ancient hymns and legends with liquid music, 
sweet and soft, which would charm the refined ear to-day; of 
their belief that the great god Brahma first taught music to 
man. 

Such is the ancient history of music among the rude na- 
tions of Asia and of Africa. Among the few records of the 
first people of Europe we find no record of music. The 
Pelasgians, the inhabitants of Greece before the Trojan 
war, left no record of music, but in after ages when the Greek 
nation became so powerful, they developed a taste for har- 
mony, and the lyre, and the pandean pipes and the martial 
trumpets gave forth sweet tones or martial music in the hands 
of the Grecian maidens, youths and warriors. The Greek lan- 
guage itself is musical; even to-day, when its true prommci- 



42 MOSES TAUGHT MUSIC TO THE ISRAELITES. 

ation is lost, we find it sweet and harmonious. In the Greek 
drama the pieces were sung, nor spoken. In their theatres, 
with the benches rising one above another, the roof uncov- 
ered, the pieces were sung, like our modern operas. Thus thev 
advanced farther than any of the older nations, till their 
music became the most celebrated of the ancients. 

We have given the most ancient accounts of music anions 
the pagan nations ; but the oldest account of music is that 
of "Jubalj the father of them that play upon the harp and 
the organs." : But centuries after, when the Lord delivered 
his people from the land of Egypt, and out of the house of 
bondage, and when Moses made the tabernacle, by command 
of God he, learned in all the knowledge of the Egyptians, in- 
icted the Israelites in music, for "then Moses and the 
children of Israel sung the canticle to the Lord beginning : 
'Let us sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously magnified, the 
horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.'" : And when 
Mo-es made the tabernacle, and arranged the ceremonies, and 
ordained the feasts to be kept, the X«ord appointed 
musical instruments to be used in the services, sav- 
ing to Moses : •'When thou shalt sound the trum- 
pets." 3 "If at any time you shall have a banquet, and 
on your festival days, and on the first days of your months, 
you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts and the 
sacrifice of peace offerings, that they may be to you for a re- 
membrance of your God." ' Such was the-way of sacrineinsf in 
the tabernacle to the sound of the music of the trumpets : such 
was the manner in after times when Solomon built his tem- 
ple, "for they ministered before the tabernacle of the testi- 
mony with singing until Solomon built the house of the Lord 
in Jerusalem,"' 5 and when the ark was brought into the new 
temple, " Mathathias and Eliphalu and Macenias and Obe- 
bedom and Jehiel sung a song of victory for the octave, upon 
the harps, and Chonenias * * * gave out the tunes, for he 
was skilful." ' Thus was the service of the Lord made 
sweet and beautiful with all kinds of musical instruments. 7 
And for that reason holy David composed the Psalms to be 
sung in the house of the Lord. He composed them accord- 
ing to the poetry of the Hebrews, he. inspired by the Holy 

i Gen. h ,: - The Canticle of Moses. Zxod. sr. 1. 3 Numbers, x. 3. 

« Numbers, x/10. * Paral. vi. 33. * I Par?.. I • Para:, sv-;, 



THE MUSIC OF THE CHURCH. 43 

Ghost, foretold the things to come, when that great taber- 
nacle and temple would be built in every land, our holy 
Church, built by the Son of God, wherein the Lord would be 
praised not by a sensual people like the Jews, but by a 
spiritual people like the Christians. And the early Chris- 
tians, following the customs of the Jews, used to daily sing 
the Psalms of David, used to read long portions of the Bible. 
Such was the origin of the Christian music. But what 
will we say of that music of the Church? The early 
saints and apostolic men took the poetry of the Hebrews from 
the Scriptures, took the music from the Greeks, took the har- 
mony from all nations, and combining these they formed a 
finer and sublimer music and harmony than any that had 
ever been heard before. Such is the origin of that music 
you have heard so often in the church. .As the Psalms 
were written in sentences one re-echoing the other, one 
called the Versicle, the other the response, hence the 
origin of these in our services. The choir of singers was 
divided into two parts, one sang, the other answered, 
hence the origin of the two choirs in the church, and the 
celebrant sung or said one verse, the choir or server answer- 
ing him. The chief singer would intone an Antiphon, the 
other take it up and continue, hence the same custom in the 
church. 

Could we find space to speak of those who worked on the 
music of the Church ! But we can give only the names of St. 
Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, who wrote many of the beautiful 
hymns used in our services; of St. Gregory, who used all the 
power of his authority as Pope to purify and to perfect the 
music of the Church, hence it is called the Gregorian chant; 
of Palestrina, in whose music the words of the Mass formed 
the grandest solemnity; of Hayden, with his genius for 
sweetness; of Cherubini, and of that greatest master, Mozart. 
What more shall we say of music? What but the Church 
could inspire it? No music ever equalled hers-this side of 
Heaven. She is the foster-mother of music. What will I 
say of the fine arts in the Church ? Nicolo Pisano carved 
the pulpits of the churches of Pisa, Orvieto, Siena and the 
cities of Italy. Andrea Pisano worked in majestic beauties 
the doors of 'the baptistery of St. John of Florence, while 
that of Lorenzo Ghiberti excelled anything ever done. Luca 



44 SCULPTURE IN THE CHURCH. 

della Robbia is celebrated for his sculpture of the Christ 
and the Virgin. Donatello for his great statues of St. Mark 
and of St. George. What shall I say of Michael Angelo ? 
Who ever equalled him as a sculptor or as an architect ? 
What but the Church could inspire him ? What but religion 
could give him such models ? Thus the fine arts were always 
fostered by the Church ; she fills her holy temples with 
statues, and beautifies them with carvings, and adorns them 
with forms of beauty, till the soul can cry out: " How beau- 
tiful are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel." ' 

Will you say that it is wrong to beautify the house of God ? 
Will you say that it is bad to have the images of the saints 
in God's house when the images of great men are in your 
houses ? 

These paintings and those statues are there, not to be 
adored, as some ignorant of our religion say, for no one be- 
longing to our holy religion is so degraded as to kneel before 
an image or a painting to adore it, as that would be idolatry. 
God alone can be adored and he alone can receive divine 
worship. These statues and these images are in the church 
for many and for good reasons. They are to tell truth to man, 
to preach him sermons. They speak a silent, yet a powerful 
language. A description of a scene may be given by words, 
but a sculpture is more striking; we are moved by a 
painting of a thing more than by its description, no matter how 
graphic it be given in words. In the first ages all could not 
read; these paintings, these statues were their books, they 
could learn their religion by the statues, pictures and orna- 
ments of their churches. 

Thus in old times, centuries ago, then people were not 
educated, few could read, fewer still could write their names, 
men had not the advantages of schools, colleges and univer- 
sities ; printing had not been invented, books were scarce, 
and a library was worth a fortune. In order to instruct her 
children in the knowledge of religion, the Church ornamented 
her buildings with statues, ornaments and paintings, these are 
the books of the common people. In the words of Gregory 
the Great : " It is one thing to beautify by a picture, but it 
is a different thing to adore the mystery represented by the 
picture, for what the educated learn by reading the ignorant 

1 Numbers xxiv. 5. 



THE GODS OF THE ANCIENTS. 45 

see in the pictures, because knowing not how to read they 
understand seeing the pictures, although ignorant of letters." 
The Chaldeans worshipped fire, the Egyptians adored the cow, 
the crocodile and the depraved gods of Isis and Osiris, the 
Romans sacrificed to all the gods of the pagan nations, the 
Greeks had their theos, their gods, to whom, in magnificent 
temples, they bowed down in adoration, all nations were de- 
praved and idolatrous in the ages before the coming of 
Christ. 

The JeAvs alone by command of God had no idols or 
images ; " Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor 
the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in the 
earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the water under 
the earth," * and many authors following these words 
sometimes severely reprove us for having images in our 
churches, thinking that it is contrary to the law of God. But 
they do not know that this law related entirely to the Jewish 
people, who, having the customs of the Egyptians, were ex- 
tremely prone to idolatry. They adored a golden calf when 
Moses was on the mountain ; they would worship Moses' body 
if an angel had not hid it; they erected a j^lace of idolatry on 
the hilltops in the days of Solomon ; they nearly all fell away 
and became idolaters in the reign of Achaz; they lost their 
faith in great numbers in the land of Chaldea; during the 
captivity in Babylon they were corrupted ; thus, in the days 
of the kings we see that the Lord commanded his prophet : 
" Go in, and see the wicked abominations w T hich they commit 
here. And I went in, and saw, and behold every form of creep- 
ing things, and of living creatures, the abomination and all 
the idols of the house of Israel were painted on the wall all 
around about. " l Such then was the inclination of the Jews to 
idolatry, that the Lord forbade any images, or graven things 
to be used by them, lest it would be an occasion to them of 
idolatry. The nations around them, communicating with 
them, mingling with them, were prone to all kinds of super- 
stitions. The idol of Moloch was adored in the land of 
Amnion ; the Penates were the household gods among the 
refined and educated Greeks ; the statue of Mars and of 
Jupiter were the deities of the Romans; impurity under the 
name of Yenus was worshipped wherever Latin was known ; the 

i Exod. xx. 4. 2 Ezechiel, viii. 10. u . *^ 



46 IMAGES AMONG THE JEWS. 

Persians followed the false doctrines of Zoroaster; the Chinese 
the philosophy of Confucius; and the learned of India pored 
over the learned hook of the Vedes. Thus all nations were 
idolators, and to prevent the Jews following their example, 
the Lord forbade them to have pictures or images of any- 
thing in their houses. But they had the images and the 
likeness of many things in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. 
Over the mercy-seat in the Holy of Holies were the images 
of the cherubims ;* on the covering of the veils were the 
pictures of cherubims ; 2 under the great brazen sea at the door 
of Solomon's Temple were the images of the twelve oxen 3 and 
the many images of women, while the temple was decorated 
with many images and carvings. 4 Thus we see that the use of 
images comes from the building of the tabernacle and of the 
temple. The church takes the j)lace of the temple, fulfilling the 
role of the Jewish law given by Moses, and is it not right 
that it would use images to represent truths and ideas as well 
as the law of Moses? The law given to Moses was only a 
preparation and a figure of the Christian law given by Christ. 
And as at the coming of our Lord the law of Moses was 
abolished, as much should we say that oxen, and lambs, and 
sacrifices, should now be offered morning and evening as to 
say that the law of Moses binds us. Therefore, the laws of 
the Jews being taken away, also the authority of the passage 
relating to images is taken away. 

Thus, in religion the description of a thing comes to the 
soul by hearing, the sight of the same thing comes to the 
soul by seeing, and as the sight is a nobler and higher sense 
than hearing, therefore a picture is a higher and nobler way 
of educating the mind. 

The picture of the Saviour is in three ways, either as sit- 
ting on his throne, in his mother's arms, or dead on the cross. 
Sitting on his throne he recalls to us the last and general 
judgment, when from his throne of glory on Mount Calvary 
he will judge the world; in his mother's arms he recalls to 
our minds the mystery of the Incarnation of a God become 
man, nay more, a lesson of humility, a God become a little 
child for our sakes ; hanging on the cross his image, or his 
picture, tells us in striking language that the same Son of 

, 1 Exod. xxxvii. 7, 8, 9. 2 Exod. xxxvi. 8. 8 HI. Kings, vii. 25. 

4 III. Kings vii. 29. 



PICTURES OF GOD'S GLORY. 47 

God died on the cross, died for your sins and mine, gentle 
reader, telling us of the great mystery of the redemption. 
Behold then the sacrifice of the Son of God, in the words of 
St. John the Baptist, -" Behold the Lamb of God." 1 Pope 
Adrian commanded that he be painted and represented as a 
man hanging on the cross, but not as a Lamb ; " the Lamb of 
God must not be represented as hanging on the cross, but as a 
man, but there is no reason why a Lamb may not be pictured 
at the foot of the cross, as he is the true Lamb who taketh 
away. the sins of the world." 2 Thus and in many ways you 
see pictures of our Lord in the church. Sometimes as a 
little child in the manger, to remind us of the child born to 
the world on that Christmas-night at Bethlehem ; sometimes 
in his mother's arms to tell us of his childhood, of those 
many years of hidden and obscure life that he passed on 
earth unknown to men, and to teach us to love obscurity and 
shun ambition; sometimes among the clouds surrounded by 
angels to tell us of his ascension into heaven, after his vic- 
tory over death and hell ; sometimes as sitting on a throne 
to tell us of his power; "all power is given me in heaven 
and on earth;" 3 sometimes clothed with majesty, as he ap- 
peared to the prophets, " I saw the Lord sitting upon a 
throne, high and elevated ;" 4 sometimes as being upheld by 
celestial beings and sitting on a cloud of angels ; " who sit- 
teth upon the Cherubims;" 5 sometimes he is painted as sitting 
upon a mountain, high and elevated, under his feet a sea as it 
were of sapphire and light, as he appeared to Moses, Aaron, 
Nadab and Abiu; 6 sometimes he is painted as sitting on 
Mount Calvary surrounded with a cloud of celestial spirits, 
clothed with beauty, such as no mortal mind can conceive ; 
" and then they shall see the Son of Man coming in a cloud 
with great power and- majesty ;" 7 sometimes he is painted, 
surrounded with seraphims such as the prophet saw him on 
his throne : "Upon it stood the Seraphims: the one had six 
wings, the other had six wings: with two they covered his 
face, with two they covered his feet, and with two they flew. 
And they cried one to another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy, the 
Lord God of hosts." 8 

i John i. 29. « De consecra. dist. 3 Cap. Placuit. 3 Math.;xxviii . 18. 

« Isaias vi. 1. s IV. Kings, xix. 15. 6 Exod. xxiv 10. 7 Luke xxi, 27. 
8 Isaias vi. 2 



4> PICTURES OF HEAVENLY THINGS. 

You see angels painted like children, to tell us that they 
are always young and never grow old like us. Michael the 
Archangel, whose name is u TYlio is like Gk I" : in Hebrew, is 
sometimes painted as righting with the dragon according to the 
revelations of St John: "There was a great battle in heaven 
Michael and his angels fought with the drag >n - reminding 
us of that myst a i : ua battl d the great Spirits : of their 

creation in innocence] not seeing God face to face as now, 
but dimly, like «:v ; of the third pan who rebelled: of 

the sin of their leader, who wanted to he like \. or 

lore the body and soul of man in Jesus 
Christ, when the incarnation and birth of the Son of God was 
announced to take place at some future time : of the confir- 
mation in glory of the good angels and the ruin and damna- 
af the bad. Such are the truths we find in the picture of 
the battle in heaven. Also, let it remind us that we too must 
fight, that we must be proved here in this world, as no crea- 
ture can - You seethe 
pictures of the twenty-four ancients' with white robes and 
_ >lden crown-, they are the twenty-four teachers of the Old 
Testament and the twenty-four doctors of the Church. Ton 
in many churches in Europe the four animals seen by the 
Prophet Ezed Is \ > :.. near the river Chobar y "seen 
by St. John in th : : Patmos: 5 " there was the fat 
a man. and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four: 
and the face of an ox, on the left side of all the four: and the 
face of an eagle over all the four." 6 These are the four 
evangelists, -Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. St Matthew as 
a man. St. Mark as a lion, and these on the right side. St. 
Matthew speaks of the birth of Christ and how he became 
man. took our nature ; St. Mark S] eaks of his rising glorious 
and immortal fro:.. t wo mysteries were joyful, 
joy is signified by the right side, hence they are placed on the 
right side in the vision. St. Luke is the ox becau 
of the passion of our Lord, that suffering so sad for a Christian 
to think about, hence he is placed on the If Ft si le. Again t] 
are mystic things in these visions. St. Matthew is figured by a 
man. for he begins his Gospel by giving the genealogy *of 
- and his descent as a man.f rom die race of Adam. " The 

1 .Pope Greeory Ex. Horn 34 in Evang. 2 Apoc. m. 7. » Apoc. iv. 

* Ezech. i. 5. 5 Apoc. 6 Ezeeh. l. 10. 



49 

book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David." 
St. Mark is represented by a lion, because he commences his 
Gospel by the words of S. John the Baptist who roars like a 
lion in the wilderness. " A voice of one crying in the 
desert." 1 St. Luke is like an ox, beginning his Gospel 
by the sacrifice of Zachary. "There was in the days of 
Herod * * * * a certain priest," 2 in the temple where the prin- 
cipal victim was an ox, while St. John like the eagle flies up to 
the divinity, and tells us in sublime language of Him who " In 
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and*the Word was God," 3 teaching us of the generation of 
the Son of God from his Father before all ages. 

Deeper still we find the vision. The man, the ox, the lion 
and the eagle signify Jesus himself. 4 They were symbols of 
mysteries in the Son of God, shown in prophetic vision to 
Ezechiel of the priestly race and to S . John the beloved 
disciple. Jesus was a man as he was born of a woman of 
the race of Adam, he is like an ox as he was to replace the 
sacrifices of the ox in the Jewish law by the sacrifice of him- 
self on the cross, he is a lion, " the lion of the tribe of Juda," 
like the lion coming forth from his lair he came forth from 
the grave the day of his resurrection, he is like an eagle 
when rising from mount of Olives, he ascended into 
heaven; being therefore a man in his birth, a lion in his 
resurrection, an ox in his sacrifice on the cross, an eagle 
in his ascension into heaven. 

Sometimes you see the picture of St. Peter with keys 
in his hand, because to him the Lord said : " Thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, * * * * and I 
will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : 
And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound 
also in heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose upon earth, it 
shall be loosed also in heaven." 5 Peter in Syrocaldaic, spoken 
by our Lord, and also in Greek, signifies a rock, that is, Peter 
after Christ was to be the corner-stone of the Church ; to him 
was given the power of feeding the sheep, and feeding the 
lambs, that is the clergy and the people of the Church ; and 
to remember that power given to him, he is represented as 
having keys in his hand. Sometimes you see the Pope's 

1 Ma&. i. v. 3. 2 Luke i. v. 5. 3 John. i. v. i. 4 S.^Thonias In Evangel 
5 Math. xvi. 18, 19. - -'— -^- -- 



50 APOSTLES AND SAINTS. 

shield with keys on it, that is to remind us that the Pope is 
the successor of St. Peter, and that to him descended the 
power of the keys, for he is Bishop of Rome, the ruler of the 
universal Church in place of St. Peter, who changed the See 
from Antioch to Rome and died there. 

Sometimes you see the statue of St. Paul with a sword, for 
he was a Roman soldier before he was called to be an Apostle, 
and to remind us of his calling he is figured with a sword. 
It brings to our minds also of the manner of death he 
suffered, for history tells us, that both he and St. Peter died 
at Rome on the same day ; St. Peter by being crucified with 
his head down, at his own request, St. Paul by being be- 
headed, because being a Romau citizen they would not 
crucify him. 

Sometimes you see the picture of a man crucified on a 
cross like the letter X, that is St. Andrew, and that is called 
his cross, for he died on a cross made in that way. 

Sometimes we see statues of the twelve Apostles around 
the Church holding something or some sign to tell of the 
peculiarity of each. Often the statue of the Virgin *is 
crowned to tell us that she is queen of heaven. She is generally 
represented as holding the infant Jesus in her hands, to re- 
mind us of her quality as mother of God. 

Often there is a statue of all the saints, but none of our 
Lord, for He is in the Church, in the tabernacle, and when 
his statue or image is seen it is for some purpose, as to tell 
of his sacred heart, which loved the world so, or of His death 
on the cross when hanging as having just given up the ghost, 
or dead and with the pallor of death laid in the tomb, or on 
his Mother's knees after being taken from the Cross, while 
there are the cruel marks of death on His body, there are the 
signs of affiiction and sorrow in the Mother. The nails, spear, 
sponge, ladder, crown of thorns and other things are to re- 
mind us of the passion of our Lord. You will see often 
Christ with a lamb on His shoulders ; that is the sheep lost 
in the mountains, 1 when the shepherd left the ninety and nine 
and went to seek the other sheep that was lost ; that is tke 
parable of the lost sheep. 

The shepherd is Jesus our Shepherd, the ninety-nine are 
the angels in heaven, the one that was lost in the mountains 

1 St. Luke, xv. 4. 



BUILT ON A ROCK. 51 

the human race lost by sin, the Shepherd putting his sheep 
on his shoulders is our Lord raising us up and carrying us 
on Himself by His grace. Sometimes you see our Lord on 
His throne and the sheep on His right and the goats on His 
left, it is a picture of the last judgment, when the angels 
shall separate the good from the bad, and the good shall be 
on the right, and the bad on the left. 1 Sometimes you will 
see the Apostles painted and frescoed with books m their 
hands. The books signify perfect knowledge of religion, be- 
cause they were taught by the Saviour himself. Sometimes 
you will see Peter standing on a rock, for to him the Lord 
said : " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 2 
Sometimes you will see the Church as a great building on a 
rock in the sea. That is the true Church built by Christ on 
the rock, that is on the Papacy, in the sea, in the midst of 
the changing governments and institutions and peoples of 
this world, who are ever fluctuating like the waves of the 
sea, but the Church is on an unchanging impregnable rock, 
for the Church never changes. You see the waves dashing 
against the rock-bound shores, but beaten back. Thus the 
Church built on Peter and his successors stands alone in the 
world ; it never changes ; it remains the same ; it is attacked 
on all sides by the waves of error, the storms of persecution, 
the roar of the elements of passion, of governments, of poli- 
tics around it ; it is attacked by these, but they are driven 
back; they go down. Governments may change, nations 
may rise and fall, peoples may change their forms of laws, 
their idea, their manners, but the Church alone, as an insti- 
tution founded by Jesus Christ, stands to-day and ever will, 
a thing that can never be destroyed. " And the gates of hell 
shall not prevail against it." 3 Again we find on coats-of-arms, 
and on shields in various parts of the Church the pictures of 
keys ; they remind us of that power that the Saviour prom- 
ised to His Apostles and their successors: "I will give to 
thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou 
shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven, and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth it shall be loosed also in 
heaven," 4 telling us of that wonderful power that Christ left in 
the Church, of forgiving sins. And do not be surprised at that, 

J St, Math. xxv ? 33, 2 St. Math. xvi. 18. 3 Math. xvi. 18. 4 Matt, xvi. 19. 



52 THE SEVEN SEALS. 

gentle reader. You see clearly that water can forgive sins 
in baptism; you see that from the dead ground by the power 
of God the green herbs spring ; you see that from the crude 
rough things of earth the Lord makes our beautiful bodies, 
that are residence for the soul; you see that we are sur- 
rounded by wonders, by mysteries that we do not understand, 
all done by the power of God. So do not be surprised if God 
gave power to man to forgive sins, and if you say, can 
any one but God forgive sins, you say the same words 
that the unfortunate Jews said to our Lord. 1 That power 
was given by Jesus when he said to the Apostles : "Whose 
sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them, and whose 
sins you shall retain they are retained."' 2 We are not writing 
a tract on the sacraments, some day we may, but we are giv- 
ing a reason for the things in the Church, that in confession 
the human heart is purified, that there the conscience is rec- 
tified, that there the grace of God is infused, that there the 
soul of the weak is strengthened. But if men have thrown 
it off, it is that they might have a greater license and follow 
their bad passions, and if one will not go, it is because he is 
steeped in sin and wickedness. 

The Son of God is sometimes represented with a closed 
book in his hands; it is the book seen by St. John : "In the 
right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within 
and without sealed with seven seals." 3 That is the seven 
deadly sins committed by man on earth, pride, covetousness, 
lust, anger, gluttony, sloth, envy; the seven seals that closed 
up the book, that is the seven kinds of sins committed bv our 
first parents which closed heaven against us. They sinned 
by pride, in desiring to be like God ; they sinned by doubt- 
ing God's word, by eating when not necessary, by eatiug 
what was forbidden, by disbelieving God's words a's to the 
punishment, by trying to excuse themselves afterward Eve 
by trying to please the serpent and Adam by pleasing 
his wife. 4 Such are the seven sins committed by our first 
parents, and such are the seven sins written deep in the 
nature of each one of us. These are the seven seals 
closing heaven, closing the book of life, opened by our 
Lord by his death on the cross. You see sometimes the 
picture or the image of a book sealed with seven seals. 

1 Mark ii. ?. '- John xs. 03. 3 Apoc. v. 1. * Schonppe, Theo. Dog. de Pec. Orig- 



WHAT THE PARTS MEAN, 53 

think then of the seven deadly sins within your nature till 
washed by the blood of your Saviour; think of heaven 
closed against you, till He opened it for you and for us all, 
for "behold the lion of the tribe of Juda, the root of David 
hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals 
thereof." ' 

The windows through which the light passes, the windows 
with their glass keeping out the storms and rains, are the Holy 
Scriptures enlightening the Christian's soul, keeping him from 
the storms of error. All light in the church comes through 
the windows ; all truths in the Church come through the 
word of God, entrusted to the keeping of the Church. 
These windows are often colored and through them 
shines that colored light of various tints that tells 
us of the various kinds of truths we find in the Bible ; 
that tells us of the various interpretations different people 
put on the texts of the Bible. And when you are in the 
church, when you see that dim religious light streaming 
through the windows, think of the truths of religion, gentle 
reader, see if your mind may not be colored in some way by 
prejudice, by education or by error, so that you perhaps do 
not walk in the right path that leads to everlasting life. 

The columns remind us of the doctors of the Church who 
sustained her in her contests and combats by their learning 
and their writings. These are by their divine eloquence called 
silvery columns, according to the words of the Canticle of Can- 
ticles, " The pillars thereof are made of silver," 2 whence it 
was that Moses placed at the door of the tabernacle five pillars, 
and four more before the entrance of the Holy of Holies. 
Although there may be many pillars there should be seven, 
following the Book of Proverbs : "Wisdom hath built herself a 
house ; she hath hewn her out seven pillars." 3 Why seven pil- 
lars ? Because the doctors of the Church should have the 
seven gifts of the Holy Ghost — wisdom, understanding, 
counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and the fear of the Lord. 
These are the seven pillars that uphold the Church in the 
minds of the people. The materials even tell their story. 
Brass recalls the strength of doctors, the capitals of the pil- 
lars, the beauties of their heads filled with virtue, the orna- 
ments, the beauties of the Holy Scriptures. 4 Such are the 

lApoc, v. 5. 2 cant of Cant. iii. 10. 3 Prov. ix. 1 4 Durand. Cap I. 27. 



54 THE I. H. S., I. N. R, I. AND S. P. Q. R. 

truths we get from the pillars. But there are truths' cong 
tained in the pictures and statues. 

Many say that I. H. S. means " I have suffered," little remem- 
bering that these letters were on the altars of Palestine and 
of Syria, of Greece and of Rome long before the English was a 
language. That is Jesus' monogram, the origin of all mono- 
grams. It is Latin, Greek and Hebrew. In Latin it is the 
first letter of Jesus, Saviour of men. 1 The I stands for J 
for in ancient times there were no J's, I taking its place. 
The cross is placed on the H to signify that He became the 
Saviour of men by His cross, for on that He redeemed the 
human race. 

In Greek it is Jesus with the two last letters left off for 
shortness, for thus the early Christians of Greece converted 
by the Apostles loved to call Him, the H in Greek being the 
long E. __''" 

In Hebrew the I signifies a principle from which another 
proceeds or comes from, and tells us of the Father from 
whom comes the Son; the H is one which comes from an- 
other, and reminds of the Son coming from the Father ; the 
S is the bond of union between two and signifies the Holy 
Spirit coming from the Father and the Son: thus the I. H. S. 
in Hebrew tells us of the Trinity. 2 

The I. N. R. I. over the head of the dead Christ on the Cross 
signifies "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," 3 the in- 
scription in Greek, Latin and Hebrew, which Pilate put over 
the head of Christ when he crucified Him, as the onlv reason 
he could find for His death. When they crucified a person 
they were accustomed to write their crime and place it over 
the crucified. 

The S. P. Q. R. seen on the banners of the Roman soldiers 
around the crucifixion scene mean the Senate and the Roman 
People, 4 for that was the ensign an d flag of the Roman 
soldiers, as ours is the stars and stripes. * 

1 Jesus Hominum Salvator. 2 Fabri concinones de nomen Jesu 

8 Jesus Nazarenus Rex Judeorum. 4 Senatus Populusque Komauus. 




HOLY SEPULCHRE, JERUSALEM, 




THE ALTAR 



CHAPTER IV. 

REASONS FOR THINGS IN THE SANCTUARY. 

THE sanctuary within the railing is a figure of heaven. 
As heaven is the most beautiful place, the sanctuary is the 
most ornamented, and in rich churches it is fitted up in gor- 
geous style. It takes the place of the Holy of Holies, wherein 
the High Priest entered ouce a year after much fasting 
and praying. The High Priest at that time was a figure of 
Jesus Christ, the true Priest, who entered heaven on the 
day of his Ascension, after his sufferings and his victory 
over death and hell. And in the temple of the Jews that 
place, the Holy of Holies, was separated from the rest 
of the temple by a veil which hid it from view and 
closed it to the entrance of the peoj)le, a true picture of 
heaven closed against mankind since the sin of Adam, but 
on the day of the crucifixion, at the moment of the death of 
the Son of God, that veil was rent in two, torn asunder, 1 
showing that by His death on the Cross, heaven was opened 
again to man. So you see no veil before the sanctuary, all 
is opened to remind us that heaven is always opened to the 
Christian. As we can have no idea of heaven, but as a place 
filled with light, " for streams of uncreated light flow around 
\t from the eternal throne," thus the sanctuary is filled with 
light. Like many of our customs that come from the Old Testa- 
ment and from the tabernacle of the Jews. 2 Of old God told 
Moses £ to make the seven-branched candlestick to light the 
Holies in the tabernacle ; in the Psalms 4 we ask God to grant 
us light; in his Epistles St. Paul, 5 that he might tell them 
that they lived with piety, says that once they" were "dark- 
ness, but now light in the Lord;" is it not clear that all this 
signifies the light of heaven ? Thus the light of the candles 
signifies the light of heaven. These candles were used from 

1 Luke xxii. 45. 2 Benedictus xiv. De SS. Misse Sac. Lib. 1, cap. iii. 4. 

8 t Exocl. xxv. 37. 4 Psalm iv. 7. 5 Epistle to Ephesians. v. 8 



56 THE LIGHT OE THE CAKDLES. 

the times of the Apostles in the Church. These candles are 
of wax. Wax is made of virgin bees, made from the fairest 
flowers of earth, a figure of the virgin body of Jesus born of 
a virgin mother, Mary, the fairest flower of the human race. 
The flame of the candle tells of Christ's divinity in that 
virgin body ; that divinity that shone with transcendent 
splendor on Thabor's mountain in the mystery of the Trans- 
figuration. One candle brings to our mind the unity of 
God ; two teach us of the two natures of Christ, human 
and divine ; three tell us of the three persons in one God ; 
four of the four great virtues of prudence, justice, temper- 
ance and fortitude; five of the five wounds in the sacred flesh 
of our Lord. Again, one tells us of one holy Church shed- 
ing its light throughout the world, two of the learning of the 
saints living and dead, three of the virtues of faith, hope 
and charity, seven of the seven sacraments, and nine of the 
nine choirs of angels, bright and glowing, before the throne 
,of God in heaven. They should always Ije of wax, and it is 
forbidden to use other than beeswax. 1 They should alwavs 
be lighted from the lamp that ever burns before the Blessed 
Sacrament, telling that all light comes from Him who is the 
light of every "man that cometh into the world," 2 and there 
that lamp burning day and night before Him whose " delights 
were to be with the children of men," 2 who brought down 
from heaven the true light of the knowledge of heavenly 
things. That light burning in the sanctuary must be fed 
with oil for a symbolic meaning — that is olive oil, which has 
three qualities ; when burned it gives light, when rubbed 
on the body it gives strength, when poured into wounds it 
heals them, thus it signifies the light, strength and healing 
power of Him in the tabernacle, who enlightens, strengthens 
and heals the souls of all who are converted by His Gospel. 4 
The candles should be lighted during services, and no service is 
ever held in the church without lights, signs of the light of 
God's grace in the soul enlightening all by heavenly truth. The 
candles must always be lighted beginning from the one nearest 
the tabernacle and going towards the sides of the altar to tell 
by that action that light comes from Jesus in the tabernacle, 
that he is the source of all truth, signified by light. During 

i Decret. Cong. Rit. 2 John i. 9. 3 Prov. viii. 31. 

* S. Bernard Sermo de S. Nona. Je*u. 



MYSTIC MEANING OF THE LIGHT ' #7 

a low. mass not more than two candles are used, and ic is for- 
bidden to light up a greater number, except during some 
special service. During high mass six candles are used 
three on each side of the altar. The two candles signify the 
Jewish and the Christian peoples. 1 The two candles of the 
low mass signify the Old and the New Testaments, which 
throw light on the mystery of the Holy Sacrifice ; the three 
candles on each side of the tabernacle tell us of the knowl- 
edge of the three Persons of God in the two Testaments. 
When the bishop of the diocese celebrates one candle is 
placed on the tabernacle, telling of the presence of a prelate. 
Thus light symbolizes Him who is the light of the world, the 
splendor of the Father, the source of all knowledge and of 
truth. Light has always been the figure of truth. Knowl- 
edge in the soul is called light ; the Gospel is the light of 
the world. The Church has always been the fountain of 
knowledge and the guardian of learning. She uses these 
lights in her services, as images of the wisdom and the truth 
with which she enlightens all men of their duties in this life, 
and of their destiny in the other. And that light in the 
Church is not new, for when Moses made the tabernacle, God 
commanded him to make a candlestick with seven branches, 
on which were seven candles to light the Holies, 2 a figure of 
the candles of our altar. Thus the use of candles and of 
lights comes to us from the Jewish law; their tabernacle and 
their temple telling of justice, for "light is risen to the 
just," 3 and we are told to love the light of justice, and 
a pillar of light guided the Israelites in their journey to the 
promised land, as truth guides us to heaven. 

Creatures consecrated to God are of three kinds — persons, 
places, things. Persons are consecrated to his service by a 
vow of chastity, like the clergy and the members of religious 
orders of both sexes. Places are consecrated to His service 
by special rites ordained, which make them holy, like 
churches, chapels, shrines and cemeteries. Things are con- 
secrated to his services by rites and ceremonies, by which 
they are set apart from things 5 profane, and entirely dedi- 
cated to the service of the Lord. Of these we have figures 
in the Old Testament, when the persons of the tribe of Levi and 
of the family of Aaron were consecrated to God — separated 

1 Innocent III. 2 Exod. xxv. 31. 3 Psalm xc. 11. 



58 ' CEEATUEES CONSECEATED TO GOD. 

from their brethren — they received no portion in the division 
of the 'promised land, the Lord their God was their portion ; 
the„ places jconsecrated to his service were the tabernacle 
and the temple, consecrated by holy rites and grand cere- 
monies, by which forever they were set apart to the service 
of the Lord ; the things consecrated were the holy vessels 
of. the tabernacle and the temple, the instruments used in 
the sacrifices, all things made by order of God were conse- 
crated by special rites ; these persons, places and things were 
set apart by God for the use of his service, consecrated to 
Him forever in the times of the tabernacle and the temple of 
tk'e Lord. And as the tabernacle and the temple prefigured 
our churches, thus tkese prefigured what takes place 
in the Christian Church. The clergy are separated from 
the 'people, the Lord their God is their portion, their place is 
in the sanctuary ;are these places dedicated to His service or 
to the use of religion, so that people will honor and respect 
the place whei religious rites are carried out, thus, not in 
ordinary or profane places are our grand ceremonies or great 
mysteries, but in places set apart for that purpose, that thus 
in holy places God may be honored more ; things are sepa- 
rated that by being entirely set apart from the world they 
may receive benediction and consecration, and thus be used 
in his service. 

We will speak here only of the holy vessels used in the 
service of the Lord. And these are holy inasmuch as they 
relate to the sacred Body and Blood of the crucified God. 
They are the chalice, the paten, the ciboriuin, the monstrance 
and the holy linens 

The chalice is the cup in which the wine is placed before 
the consecration. Holding then the sacred Blood of the 
Saviour, it is the most holy of the sacred vessels. Xo rule 
is laid down regarding its shape, but the cup is generally like 
the open calyx of a lily. In symbolic meaning it tells of 
suffering, and of that the Lord spoke when he said : "Father, 
if it be p >ssible, let this chalice pass from me." The chalice 
was used in former ages as a drinking cup, as said by Israel's 
prophet king* "How beautiful is my inebriating chalice." 
Many writers say that the chalice used by our Lord at the 
Last Supper was like a mug then common among the Ro- 
mans, the cantharus, withjhandles on each side, holding about a 




THE H0L2" VESSELS AND LINENS 



i THE 


MONSTRANCE. 


4, 


THE 


CIBORIUM. 


7. 


2. THE 


CHALICE. 


5, 


THE 


LUNETTE. 


8. 


3. THE 


PATEN. 


6. 


THE 


PYX. 


9. 



THE PURIFICATOR. 
THE PALL. 
THE CORPORAL. 



THE CHALICE AND PATEN. 59 

pint and a half. 1 Others say that it was made of agate, and 
that at present it is in the possession of the Yalentians.^ 

The material of which the chalice is made must be either 
gold or silver ; in case of necessity copper or tin may be used, 
but of whatever material the inside of the cup must be 
gilded with gold. This relates to the cup. The foot may 
be of any other material, providing it be strong. Formerly 
chalices of various materials were used, times of persecution 
preventing the regular discipline of the Church from being 
carried out, for that reason we read of chalices of glass, 
stone, marble, brass, onyx, sardonyx, chrysolite, horn 
and ivory. Chalices of horn were forbidden in former 
times. 2 

Holding the Blood of the Saviour, it is not surprising that 
the finest artists devoted their talents to ornamenting and 
beautifying the chalice with the finest art of the goldsmith's 
trade. Some ancient chalices are wonderful works of art. 
In former times, when the people received under both species, 
the chalice was much larger than at the present day, or they 
had two in some places, one used by the celebrant, the other 
by the deacon to distribute the consecrated Blood to the peo- 
ple, the people taking the Blood through silver tubes. 
Sometimes these were on a pivot so as to be turned on any 
side of the chalice. The remains of these local customs are 
seen to-day in St. Peter's, when the Pope celebrates mass he 
always receives through one of these tubes. 

The paten is a small dish like a little plate, on which 
the bread is placed before its consecration into the Body of 
our Lord. That is what the celebrant holds in his hands when 
offering the bread ; after that it is either hidden under the 
corporal at a low, or held before the subdeacon's eyes at a 
high Mass till near the end of the Our Father. As it holds 
the Body of Christ, out of respect for him it must be of the 
same material as ihe chalice. In ancient times as all the 
people received Communion from particles consecrated on the 
paten it was made larger than at present. Now they re- 
ceive from the ciborium in which the little round pieces of 
bread are placed for the communion of the people. The 
name ciborium comes from the Latin, meaning "food," for 
it contains the Eucharist, the food of our souls. The ciborium 

. * Cardinal Bona Res Liturg 290. 2 Synod of Caleuith in England, eighth century. 



60 THE MONSTKANCE AND THE HOLY CLOTHS. 

is of gold or silver, or gilt with gold, and is covered with a 
white silk cover, for white signifies innocence and immor- 
tality. The ciborium, with the consecrated Body of our 
Lord, was prefigured in the tabernacle, for God told Moses 
to fill a ghomar with manna and keep it in the ark of the 
covenant ; the ark prefigured the tabernacle, the ghomar the 
ciborium, the manna the Eucharist. 

The monstrance is used at the Benediction of the Blessed 
Sacrament, and is made so that it looks like the rays of the 
sun, for it holds the " Sun of Justice," " the light of every man 
that cometh into this world ;" and thus he who ages ago 
was said to have "placed his tabernacle in the sun," now 
takes up his residence in the monstrance for the adoration 
of his people at Benediction, and at the procession of the 
Blessed Sacrament. 

The Host is first placed in the lunette, like two rings 
with glass, so as to hold the sacrament. 

The holy cloths are the purificator, the corporal the pall 
and the altar cloths. 

The purificator is a small cloth placed over the chalice, 
covering its mouth, which is used by the celebrant to wipe 
his lips and the chalice after taking the sacred elements. 
Each clergyman has a purificator used only by himself, which 
he keeps rolled up in the amice. 

The corporal, from the latin word meaning "the body,'* 
or a body cloth, is so called from its use, for the Body of 
Christ rests on it at all times, nor is it allowed at any time 
for the Host or Blood to rest on anything but a corporal. 

These cloths are always made of linen. They signify the 
linen in which the Body of the dead Christ was rolled and 
laid in the tomb, and the napkin around his forehead found 
after the resurrection folded and laid away. The purifica- 
tor is about twenty inches long and folded in three ; it 
ought to be six inches wide, with a little cross worked in 
the middle. 

The pall was formerly a part of the corporal, or rather 
the latter was made large enough to double up so as to cover 
the chalice. Now the pall is a little square piece of linen, 
double, Avith sometimes a little cardboard between to make 
it stiff: it is used to cover the mouth of the chalice, and 
will be mentioned frequently during the explanations of the 



CONSECRATED BY THE BISHOP. 61 

ceremonies of the Mass. Some writers say it represents the 
stone rolled against the mouth of the sepulchre. 

On the altar the chalice, when not used, is covered with a 
veil of the same material and color as the vestments. Also 
the monstrance and other holy vessels are covered when not 
used, so as to keep them hidden like precious jewels from the 
sight of the rough and vulgar. Over the chalice when about 
to begin Mass the celebrant carries the burse, of the same 
kind and material as the vestments. It is to hold the cor- 
poral. When not on the chalice the veil is folded and 
placed on the epistle side, the burse on the gospel side near 
the tabernacle. 

The altar cloths are to the number of three : the upper 
one hanging down each end so as to nearly touch the floor; 
they are the coverings of the altar. 

The altar cards have certain parts of the Mass on them, so 
as to aid the celebrant in case his memory should fail him, so 
that without turning the leaves of the book he can give a 
glance at the cards and thus be aided without stopping the 
great Sacrifice. 

These are the sacred vessels used in the service of the 
altar. They are sacred and holy because they have been 
blessed by special rites and set apart for the service of 
God. 

The chalice and paten are consecrated by the bishop, for 
it would be a sin to say Mass with a chalice before its con- 
secration. 1 Clothed in stole and mitre, the bishop prays 
that they may be consecrated and sanctified to hold the 
bread and wine changed into the Body and Blood of Ch'rist. 
He makes a cross with chrism from one edge down to the 
bottom and to the other of the cup of the chalice and the 
edge of the paten, praying that God may consecrate and 
sanctify these holy vessels to his service. 2 We cannot give 
the beautiful rites and ceremonies of that consecration, but 
refer the reader to the Pontifical. If the chalice and* paten 
lose their gilding they lose their consecration ; s that is, 
when they are gilded again. If they by any accident 
are destroyed entirely, as in a fire, the material is melted, 

they lose their consecration. 

. ■ . , — « 

* at. Liguori, Theo. Moral, n. 379. 2 Pontificate Rom. de cons. Patense et Chalicis. 
p Declarat. Cong. Eit. 14 June, 1845. 



b2 FKIGHTFUL PUNISHMENT. 

The altar cloths must be blessed so as to be dedicated to 
God's service. When they are worn out so as to be of no 
more use in the house of the Lord, they are burned and 
the ashes thrown in a place under the sacristy where the water 
will be absorbed into the earth. Thus thiugs once used 
in God's service can never be used again for any other 
purpose. 

The Church is very particular with regard to the touch- 
ing and the handling of the sacred things coming in con- 
tact with the Blessed Eucharist, so that no one below a 
sub-deacon can touch them without committing a sin, even 
when they are empty ; no one but a deacon or one above 
him can touch the chalice while containing the consecrated 
Blood. Where for any reason one has to touch them he 
must, at least, not do it directly, but have on a glove or use 
a cloth. 

The most frightful examples were made of those who 
showed disrespect to the holy vessels and things dedicated to 
God's service in the Old Testament. When the Ark of the 
Covenant was captured by the Philistines and brought into 
the Temple, Dagon, their god, fell to the ground, 1 and the whole 
city was punished. The Gethites carried the Ark from one 
place to another, and in each place thousands died, so that 
the Bible says: "There was the fear of death in every city." 2 A 
man for putting out his hand to hold it up is struck dead. 
Of the Bethsamites who looked into the Ark through 
curiosity fifty thousand were killed. 3 Belshazzar dared to 
drink from the holy vessels captured at the destruction of 
Solomon's temple, and the handwriting on the wall told the 
doom of him and of his kingdom that night. Heliodorus 
started with the idea of plundering the temple of the Lord 
in Jerusalem. When about to lay hand on the sacred ve>seK 
says the Bible: "There appeared to them a horse with a ter- 
rible rider upon him, adorned with a very rich covering and he 
ran fiercely and struck Heliodorus with his fore feet. . . .More- 
over there appeared two other young men beautiful and strong 
.... who stood by him on either side and scourged him 
without ceasing with many stripes. And Heliodorus sud- 
denly fell to the ground." 4 

Full of symbolism and of mystic meanings, the altar, as its 

1 II. Machab. iii. 2 I. Kins:*, v. 3 I. Kinss, v. 4 I. Kings, vi. 



HISTORY OF THE ALTAR. 63 

name tells us, from the latin alta, a high, a holy place, is the 
chief of all things in the church — to that all turn, to that 
all ceremonies are directed, to that all ornaments relate. If 
we wish to find the origin of the altar Ave must go back to 
the cradle of the human race. At the gates of Paradise Cain 
and Abel built their altar, for they offered sacrifice to the 
Lord. 1 The patriarchs of old built their altars, on which they 
offered sacrifices in thanksgivings for the favors given 
by their God. Coming from the Ark, Noe built an altar and 
offered sacrifice to God for his deliverance; 2 Abraham raised 
an altar in the noble vale of Sichem where God appeared and 
promised the land of Canaan to his posterity; 3 again he 
erected altars near Bethel and upon the mount where he went 
to sacrifice his son; 4 Isaac, after the death of his father 
Abraham, established his altar at Bersabee; 5 Jacob on his 
return from Mesopotamia made an altar near Sichem; 6 thus 
the great service of the religion of the patriarchs was sacri- 
fice, the chief thing in their worship an altar. These rules 
were followed by their descendants and we read that Moses 
sacrificed upon an altar after his victory over the Amalectites 7 
till that manner of building altars and offering victims by 
private authority ceased by command of God at the giving 
of the law of Moses. " The man of the house of Israel, and 
of the strangers who sojourn among you, that offereth a 
holocaust or a victim, and bringeth it not to the door of the 
tabernacle of the testimony, that it may be offered to the 
Lord, shall perish from among his people." 8 Thus, at the 
giving of the law of Moses the tabernacle and the temple 
became the only place of the altar and of the victims, to tell 
them of the unity of God and of the unity of that holy Catholic 
Church, outside of which there is no altar, no sacrifice 
offered since the time of Christ that is acceptable to the 
Lord. In the Holies of the tabernacle was the altar of in- 
cense, signifying the prayers of the faithful ascending from 
a pure and innocent heart. At the door of the tabernacle 
was the altar of holocaust; on that was offered the victims 
that prefigured the victim of Calvary. The altar of incense 
was made of setim wood overlaid with plates of purest gold: 



» Gen. iv 3. 4. 2 Gen viii. 20. 3 Gen. xii. 7. 4 Gen. xii. 8. and Gen. xxu .9. 
s Gen. xxvi. 25 6 Gen xxxiii. 20. 7 Exod. xvn. 15. 

s Levit. xvii. 8, 9 9 Exod. xxx. 



64 THE ALTAR AMONG THE GENTILES. 

the altar of incense was made of setim wood covered with 
brass. 1 Such were the models and the patterns of the Christian 
altars. There was never then a sacrifice without an altar. 
Strictly speaking, the altar is no more than a table on which 
are placed many things, which are like ornaments, or have 
some symbolic meaning to teach the people by signs and 
figures the mysteries that are taking place. That sacrifice 
upon the altar is- always offered to God; it is the highest and 
supreme act of devotion given to the Godhead. Sacrifice 
offered to any creature, no matter how high or how perfect, 
is idoltary. Therefore no sacrifice can be offered to any of 
the saints, or Apostles, or the Virgin Mary, as they are 
creatures; but to God alone, as he is the Creator and 
supreme Master of the world. 

Every nation, every people, had their altars and their sac- 
rifices. As Plutarch says: " If you travelled the earth, you 
may find cities without walls, books, laws, houses, coin, schools 
and churches; but a city without temples and gods, which 
they address with prayers and vows, to which they offer sac- 
rifice for benefits received or evils turned away, and by rites 
and ceremonies, no one ever saw." 2 Such is the testimony of 
the Bible, of Herodotus and Hesiodus, of Plato and Aristotle, 
of Cicero and Seneca, and of all writers of ancient peoples — 
that they always had their altars, on which they offered sac- 
rifice to the gods. It is the remains of the first revelation 
made to Adam, of the necessity of offering sacrifice to God, 
as a mark of his providence in guiding the world, and that 
all belongs to him. The altar was found anions the mvsteri- 
ous rites and practices of the Druid priests, those people 
whose histories and whose religions come down to us from 
the legends and fables of northern Europe. The ruins of the 
altar are found in the vales and hills of Germany, Avhere the 
Saxon and the Frank immolated their victims to appease 
their angered gods. The altars of Egypt smoked with the 
sacrifices of Isis and Osiris, the altars of Greece and Rome 
rose in all the splendor and beauties of sculpture and archi- 
tecture, whereon the victims and the incense burned to the 
worship of Jupiter, of Yenus, of Apollo, of Mars, of Xep- 
tune, of Zeus, and of the hundreds of the divinities of these 
cultured people. On the banks of the Euphrates and the 

1 Exod. xxvii. 3 Plutarch, Adv. Colotem. 



MYSTIC MEANING OF THE ALTAR. 65 

Tigris, amid the splendors of Babylon and of Assyria, rose 
the altars and the shrines dedicated to the divinities of that 
barbarous empire. All tribes and peoples had their altars. 
Thus, from one end to the other of the world, all nations 
had preserved that universal idea of sacrifice to the Divinity, 
corrupted and changed it is true; still, the germ of truth was 
there, that germ first sowed in the garden of Paradise by the 
hand of God, that the altar and the sacrifice are things that 
must be offered to the Lord. 

Look well at the altar in the Church. It looks like one 
of the old tombs that we used to see in graveyards. Why 
thus? Because the altar came from the Catacombs. There 
in times of persecution, when driven from the light of 
heaven, they covered the martyr's tomb with white linen, 
and in fervor and in love the hero priests and people 
offered up the unbloody Sacrifice; from that time, in remem- 
brance of these, we preserve the shape of a tomb. It looks 
like a table, for it signifies the table at the Last Supper, wheron 
the Son of God took bread and wine and changed them into his 
body and his blood, for that is what takes place at the Sacrifice 
of the Mass; * it looks like a cross, for it symbolizes the cross 
on which the Saviour died; 2 it looks like a hill raised up 
higher than the other parts of the church, for it tells of 
Calvary, on which the first great sacrifice was offered; it tells 
us by. its four corners of the four quarters of the world, 
where the people are scattered, of those who make up the 
spiritual Church; it tells us of Jesus, for it symbolizes him 3 
through whom alone we are to be saved; for that reason the 
priest kisses often the altar; it tells us of the heart immolated, 
sacrificed every day in the trials and troubles of this world.* 
Thus the Fathers of the Church delight to call the altar by 
many and endearing titles. They call it the celestial table, 
the throne of God, the resting-place of the grand Sacrifice, 
the tomb of Jesus Christ, and the dwelling-place of his glory. 
Made in times of persecution of wood, since Constantine 
gave liberty to Christians, and from the time of Pope Syl- 
vester, the altar must be of stone, and reasonably, for it 
represents Him who is the stone struck by Moses in the 

1 Petit Eational, par Perin, p. 12. 2 Petit Rational, par Perin, p. 12. 

3 Venerable Bede. " * Petit Rational, par Perin, p. 12. 

5 Exod. xvii. 6. 



6G THE MODEL OF THE ALTAE. 

desert; ' Him who is the corner-stone of the house of the Lord, 
the city of God, the holy Church. It is consecrated by the 
hands of the bishop, to show the plenitude of grace that will 
flow from it, it is anointed with holy chrism to symbolize that 
grace, that stone becomes the sepulchre of the bones of the 
martyrs, those great heroes of the Church, and friends of 
God. Oh ! Happy thought, to place the names of the great 
martyrs of the faith in the stone where daily is offered the 
blood of Him who was the first and greatest Martyr;* to unite 
forever those who shed their blood for Him, the Divine 
Victim. 2 

The model of our altar is found in that altar made by com- 
mand of God, made by Moses of the wood of setim, and the 
altar of incense covered with plates of purest gold. Such was 
the plan of our altars given by God himself, given to Moses on 
the mount. 3 In the strong figurative language of the eastern 
nations that altar signifies many things, tells us of many 
truths. It tells us of the supreme altar of heaven, before the 
Holy Trinity, as said in the Canon of the Mass: " Command 
this to be carried up to thy sublime altar, before the face of 
thy Divine Majesty;" it tells us of the altar of heaven whereon 
the angels offer our prayers to the Lamb of God, as foreseen 
by Israel's Prophet King : "Then shall they lay calves upon thv 
altar;" 4 it tells us of the altar of God on earth, his holy 
Church formed of the just throughout the world, as said by the 
Holy Ghost: "If thou build to me an altar of stones thou shalt 
not build it of holystones," 5 but of the bodies and souls of 
the people; it tells us of that altar in the temple built by Solo- 
mon: "Appoint a solemn day with shady boughs even"to the 
horns of the altar;" 6 it teUs us of the mystery of the Incar- 
nation foretold in mystic meaning in the words of the Lord: 
" You shall make an altar of earth unto me;" 7 it tells of the 
altar of Calvary, that great altar on which was offered the 
holy Sacrifice of the life of Christ, and that altar of Calvary 
and that cross was the true altar, and that Sacrifice was the 
true Sacrifice, and all other altars, and all other sacrifices were 
but types and figures of Calvary and of Christ. That altar 

signifies Christ, and as St. Paul says, "But the stone was 

i 

1 Petit Kational, par l'Abbe Perm, p. 12. - Petit Rational, par 1'Abbe Perin, p, 13. 
3 Exod. xxv. xxvii. xxix. 4 Psalm L. 21 . 5 Exod. xx. 25. 

« Psalm cxvii. 27. " 7 Exod. xx. 24. 



THE ALTAR OF STONE. 67 

Christ," therefore the altar must be of stone/ for the foot of 
the cross on Calvary was placed in a hole made in the rock, 
for the body of Christ rested in a stone sepulchre, for stone 
is a hard substance not easily broken and found everywhere. 
That stone is always small, not more than a foot square, to 
distinguish the christian altar from those in the pagan tem- 
ples, which were made large and wide; thus we have pre- 
served that custom of putting the stone in a place made in 
the board that makes the table of the altar; another of the 
customs that come down to us from the times of pagan Rome. 
That stone really forms the altar, for on that must always 
rest the consecrated Host and Chalice during Mass. Five 
crosses are made in the stone, one at each corner and one in 
the middle, " but the rock was Christ;" 2 these five crosses tell 
us of the five wounds in the s acred body of our Saviour, one 
in each hand, one in each foot, and one in his side, for it 
prefigures how that stone rejected by the builder became 
the head of the corner. 3 That stone is covered with strong 
canvas, to tell us of the garments worn by the Lord during 
his mortal life, and to preserve the stone from injury. The 
bones of the martyrs are placed in the stone, a custom 
coming from the times of persecutions, from the Catacombs, 
when the tombs of the martyrs were the altars of the Chris- 
tians. You will not. see that stone from the chm*ch; it is in 
front of the tabernacle covered with the altar cloths. These 
cloths are of linen, for, as linen becomes white by bleaching, 
they tell of the glories of Christ, which he merited by long 
suffering during this life, after which he entered into his 
rest. These linens tell us of the humanity of Christ, for as 
linen grows from the earth, so his humanity, that is his body 
with his soul came from his Mother Mary; as the linen becomes 
white and spotless by much bleaching, so the humanity of 
Christ was glorified at his resurrection, only after the labors 
and the sufferings of his passion. These linens cover the 
altar, for during life his humanity clothed or covered his 
Divinity. They must be three linen cloths, for Christ was 
clothed with three garments after the manners of the Jews 
at that time. Again, these linens tell us of the holy linens 
with which the dead body of Christ was clothed when dead 
and laid in the tomb. 

1 St. Chrysostom, St. Gregory of Nazean. 2 1. Cor. x. 4. 3 Math. xxi. 42. 



68 BLESSING OF THE ALTAR. 

You will notice that the altar is always high, higher than 
the rest of the Church. The word is from the latin, signify- 
ing a high place, a place whereon a sacrifice was offered. 
The pagans offered sacrifices to their gods in high places, 
on hills or mountain tops. The Pantheon of Rome was built 
on one of the seven hills of Home, the Parthenon was raised 
on one of the hills of Athens, the Jews when they fell into 
idolatry raised altars in high places, Solomon's temple was 
placed on the top of Mount Moriah. Thus, in all places and 
among all people an altar was in a high place, and the Chris- 
tians did not depart from that custom, but raised up their 
altar higher than the other parts of the building. The real 
reason of the Christian altar being high, is because it repre- 
sents Calvary. The steps leading up to the altar tell us of 
that sad road leading up to the top of Calvary, trod by our 
Lord on the day of his crucifixion. Again, it is raised up, 
that all the people may easily see the ceremonies going on at 
the altar. The altar and the linens covering it must be 
blessed by the bishop, consecrated and dedicated to the 
service of the sacrifice, because the altar is a creature set 
apart for the service of God, and because it represents 
Christ, its holiness tells us of the sanctity of Christ who was 
" full of grace and truth." For that reason at its consecra- 
tion the bishop pours holy oil upon it, for Christ was the 
anointed of the Lord, as his name Christ signifies in the 
Hebrew "The Anointed." He was not anointed like the 
sons of Aaron in their consecration to the priesthood, he was 
not anointed like Saul and David in their consecration to 
the kingdom, but he was anointed in a special and invisible 
manner by his Father in heaven to be the Saviour of man- 
kind. The altar is like a table, for it is made like the table 
of the Last Supper, whereon the Son of God changed the 
bread and wine into his Body and his Blood. In ancient 
times, in days of difficulties and of persecutions, the altar 
was of wood. 1 For it is probable that the Apostles, following 
the example of the Master, used wooden altars. Tradition 
tells us that St. Peter, when stopping at the house of Pudens 
the Senator, used to sacrifice upon a wooden altar; that altar 
can be seen, says Aringhus, in the Church of St. Prudentiana. 

Soon, the persecutions having passed and the altars beconi- 

1 Benedictus xiv. De S. Sacrificia Missae, Lib, 1, Cap. ii. de altare. 



ALTAES FIRST WOOD, NOW STONE. 69 

ing fixed in churches, the priests from being wanderers, going 
from house to house, began to live in monasteries and houses 
near their churches, the altars were introduced in the primi- 
tive state of wood, till at length St. Sylvester in the fourth 
century ordered that ttfe altar should always be of stone, on 
account of the mystic meanings given above. The whole 
altar may be of stone; in that case a little square recess is 
made for the bones of the martyrs. Or the whole altar may be 
of wood ; in that case the stone with its five crosses and recess is 
imbedded in front of the tabernacle, so that at mass the Host 
and Chalice rest upon it; in that case the real altar is the 
stone. The table of the altar, whether of wood or stone, 
according to the rules should be about three and a half feet 
high, three feet wide, and its length about six and a half feet. 1 
At the right-hand side you see a book. That is the Missal. 
Every word in it is Latin. No one knows its author; it was 
arranged by the Apostles and their successors. Its letters 
are black and red. The black is what must be said, the red 
directs what is to be done, and tells the ceremonies to be 
carried on during Mass. In examining the book in many 
places you see musical notes. They are the notes according to 
which the priest is to sing certain parts of the services. Look 
closely, gentle reader, and you will see that, these are differ- 
ent notes from any you ever saw. They may be new to you, 
but they are not to the world. It is the ancient style of 
singing and the mother of all music. ..It is the music of the 
ancient Greeks and Romans perfected and refined by Gregory 
the Great; for that reason it is called the Gregorian Chant. 
It tells us of the ancient origin of our Church. You may 
have heard beautiful music, you may have heard beautiful 
singing, but the grandest and most beautiful is* the Gre- 
gorian Chant: for depth of sentiment, for sweetness of tone, 
for raptured feeling, but especially for imparting piety, no 
music can equal the Gregorian Chant. You have heard the 
celebrant intoning the Credo of the Council of Nice, you have 
heard the sweet tones of the Preface, you have listened to 
the cadence of the Pater Noster, and can any other music 
equal that when rendered well? The modern music is well 
adapted to female voices, but the Gregorian Chant is for the 
manly voices of the priests and monks: and well was it sung 

1 Bouyry. 223. 



70 A BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM. 

in the aisle of sancturies of Europe, Asia, and Africa, during the 
ages passed, where now only the falling wall and the broken 
arches behind the high altar or the i,vy-covered ruins tell of 
the place where once rose in splendor and magnificence a 
sanctuary and an altar dedicated to the Most High, built by 
the children of the Catholic Church, built by priests and 
monks and nuns in ages passed, children of that one undy- 
ing, unchanging faith of Jesus Christ. 

How beautiful to kneel before that altar adorned with 
flowers, either natural or artificial, a custom spoken of by St. 
Jerome in the third, mentioned by St. Augustine in the fourth 
centuries. Such is the altar, made beautiful with " flowers, 
the stars of earth," that it may be a place of dwelling for the 
Son of God, his throne of love"; for, "they shall be his people 
and Gon himself with them shall be their God." ' 

On the altar you see sometimes the image of Cain killing 
his brother, 2 a figure of the Jews killing their brother Jesus; 
sometimes of Melchesadec, high priest of the Lord, offering 
his sacrifice of bread and wine, 3 a figure of the sacrifice of 
our altar; sometimes of Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac on 
the mount, 4 a figure of the Father in heaven sacrificing his 
Son Jesus on Calvary; sometimes of the bread of propitia- 
tion of the tabernacle of the Jews, 5 for it is the bread of life, 
the holy Communion; sometimes of a lamb having a cross, for it 
is the sacrifice of the Lamb of God; sometimes of the manna 
of the desert, 6 for from that altar we receive the true bread, 
of which the manna was a figure; sometimes the image of the 
body of our dead Lord, for the altar is like a tomb, to recall 
the time he spent in the tomb among the dead; sometimes 
of the Ark of the Covenant, for this is the fulfillment of all 
those mysteries prefigured by the law of Moses; such are some 
of the ornaments of the altar telling us of the things prefigur- 
ing the altar and its mysteries. No expense is saved to 
beautify it, so that the treasuries of the earth are emptied to 
beautify and add to its magnificence. The gold of Ophir and 
of California sparkles on its surface, the gems of Golconda 
shed their brilliancy from its ornaments, the most rare and 
costly gems and marble and precious stones shine and dazzle the 
eye of the spectator, so that the Christian altar eclipses in 

1 Apoc. xxi. 3. 2 Gen. iv. 3 Gen. xiv. * Gen. xxii. 

5 Exod. xxv. 30. 8 Deut. Yiii. 3. 



THE CROSS AND CRUCIFIX. 71 

gorgeousness and splendor that of the far-famed temple of 
Solomon. 

You see a large space on the top of the altar, a door opens 
into it; that is the tabernacle, for the Holy Eucharist is kept 
there for the adoration of the people and the use of the sick 
and dying. Nothing but the Sacrament or things used around 
it is ever allowed in the tabernacle. 1 Its walls are covered 
with the most precious fabrics, sometimes cloth of gold 
adorn, its walls. On its floor is a linen cloth called a corporal, 
blessed for that purpose, all for the honor of Him who 
dwells among his beloved. 

You will see over the tabernacle a cross with the image 
of the crucified nailed to it. No one is allowed to say Mass 
without a crucifix over the altar. 2 A cross is the two pieces 
alone, one piece crossing the other, that is a simple cross; a 
crucifix is the cross with the image of the dead Lord nailed 
to it. The reason of this is that the Mass is a remembrance 
and continuation of the sacrifice of Calvary; that the Mass is 
a sacrifice, but not a sacrifice different from that of Calvary. 
Again, that the image of the dead body of the Son of God 
hanging upon the cross, that cross to which he allowed him- 
self to be nailed for the love of us, may excite in us love and 
pity for him and for his death on account of our sins. 
Sometimes there are two crucifixes, a large one standing up 
high attached to the altar, and a small one placed on the 
tabernacle. 

The manner of putting to death by crucifixion was 
customary in all the Eastern nations. Among the Egyptians, 
Pharaoh's chief baker was hung on a cross; 2 the sons of Israel, 
who sinned with the daughters of Moab were crucified; 4 
Josue hung the king of Hai on a gibbet;" the sons of Respha 
and of Michole were crucified by the Gabaonites; 6 Aman and 
his sons were nailed to crosses; 7 while ail the prefects of the 
Canaanites who refused to help build the temple of Jerusalem 
died on crosses by order of Artaxerxes. 8 

The same is proved from profane history; Alexander the 
Great crucified two thousand of the inhabitants of Tyre; 9 
and Alexander the King condemned to crucifixion eight 
hundred of the leaders of the Jews in their rebellion. 10 Thus 

1 Kit. Roman. * Gury, De Euchar Cap. v. Art, 1. 3 Gen. xl. 19. 

4 Numb. xxv. 4. 5 Josue viii. 29. 6 II. Kings xxi. 8. 9. 7 Esther vn. 10. 

8 Esther vii. 10, 9 Diod. Sic. i. 18 et Q. Curt. 10 Josephus, Antiq. i. 13, 22. 



72 DIFFERENT KINDS OF ALTAKS; 

all Eastern nations in ancient times put their malefactors to 
death by crucifixion. That was the most shameful and 
disgraceful kind of death. The Romans learned it from 
them, but never crucified their own citizens. For that 
reason St. Paul, a Roman citizen, was beheaded. St. Peter, 
a Jew, was crucified. Now the cross, from being a scandal 
and a disgrace, is a glory and an honor, from being sanctified 
by the death of our Lord. You will see the cross every- 
where, on everything, to show that all merit, all grace cpmes 
from Christ crucified. 

When the bishop of the diocese comes to the church, the 
small cross is taken from the top of the tabernacle and a 
candle put in its place, to signify that the chief pastor of the 
diocese is in the church, like a light by his good example 
and fatherly words to guide the people. To show how old 
that custom of placing the cross on the altar, we give the 
words of an ancient writer: "Paulinus, Bishop of York, 
bought a golden cross and chalice of gold consecrated to the 
service of the altar." * Sometimes among the early Christians 
the whole tabernacle was a vessel of silver or gold, with the 
cross placed on the top of the cover. 2 

In olden times the house of God had but one altar; for that 
reason the Bishop of Antioch, St. Ignatius, says: "There is 
one altar in each church, and one bishop," but toward the 
fourth century they began to build churches Avith two or 
more, in order to allow all the clergy to say Mass, as they 
became more numerous after the persecution had died away. 3 
To-day among the Greeks is found that habit of having only 
one altar in each church, but the walls on the inside are 
made into little chapels, having each an altar. This way of 
building may be seen in many of our large churches in this 
country, but especially in Europe. The large altar being 
placed in the middle of one end of the church, or as at St. 
Peter's at Rome, under the dome, the people face it from all 
sides, the celebrant having the worshippers around him, says 
Mass without turning around to say any part of the services. 
A priviliged altar is one to which the Holy See has attached 
certain privileges as a plenary indulgence. Benedict XIII. 4 
has attached that privilege to any altar designated by a 

1 Venerable Bede, lib. ii. cap. 20. 2 Benedict XIV.. lib. i. cap. iii. 3. 

3 St. Gregory the Great. 4 Bull Omnium Saluti, July 20, 1724. 



st. peter's altar. 73 

Patriarch, Metropolitan, or Bishop in the cathedral churches. 
In the large churches of America generally there is always 
one altar called the high altar, where the mysteries are 
celebrated at the principal service on Sunday, with one or 
more side altars, where the low masses are said to accommodate 
the people. In country churches, and small ones in cities, 
there is but ©ne altar, and there every service is carried out. 
In cathedrals, it is customary to keep the Host in the 
tabernacle on the right-hand side, or altar of the Blessed 
Virgin, and take it to the chief altar for the services on 
Sunday. 1 

Following then the discipline of the Church, we make our 
altar of stone; but if of any other material, at least that part 
holding the relics of the martyrs and on which the chalice 
rests, must be stone. In time of persecution, as they were 
carried from place to place to escape those who sought the 
lives of the early Christians, the altar was of wood. Nearly 
all writers agree in saying that our Lord said the first Mass, 
at the Last Supper, on a wooden altar, a simple table such as 
the Jews used to eat from. In Rome are two very old 
tables of wood, one at the Church of St. John Lateran, the 
other in the Church of St. Pudentiana, having the inscription; 
" Upon this altar St. Peter used to oifer the Body and Blood 
of our Lord for the living and dead, and to increase the 
number of the faithful." a During the reign of Constantine, 2 
grand and magnificent altars of silver, gold, and precious 
stones ornamented the Christian churches. In the church 
built by himself at Rome, rose seven altars of massive 
silver. 4 The Empress Pulcheria built in the great church of 
Constantinople an altar of solid gold; while the greatest, 
most majestic, and grandest of all altars adorned the Church 
of St. Sophia, in Constantinople. Everything beautiful, and 
precious, and costly, that earth produced, or the hand of man 
could make decked it and added to its splendors. Gold, 
silver, diamonds, and the most precious stones were cut and 
forged and used by the most experienced workmen, till it rose 
in grandeur and stately magnificence, a feeling tribute of 
the love and adoration of the Emperor Justinian and his 

1 Petit national, par Perin, p. 12. 2 Martine, De Antiquis Eccl. Ritibus. 

3 From 312 to 336, * Koznw, 29. note 4. 



74 THE CHURCH OF ST. SOPHIA. 

Empress, Theodora. They dedicated it. with the following 
inscription: 1 

"We thy servants, Justinian and Theodora, offer thee, O 
Christ, thine own gifts, out of thine own, which we beseech 
thee formally to accept, O Son and Word of God, who wast 
made flesh and crucified for our sake; keep us in the true 
orthodox faith, and this sacrifice which thou hast committed 
to our trust augment and preserve to thine own glory, 
through the intercession of the Holy Mother of God, the 
Virgin Mary." 2 

Begun in the year 532 with Justinian the Emperor himself 
as one of the workmen, the magnificent temple built in the 
honor of Holy Wisdom, that is, the Son of God, remained 
for centuries among the finest temples ever raised by man. 
Well could the Emperor cry out when finished: "I have 
conquered thee, Solomon," for it far exceeded the glories 
of the great temple of Jerusalem and for many centuries 
it remained the pride of the Byzantine Empire, till pillaged 
by the Turks and turned into the Mosque of St. Sophia. 
Such is the name by which it is known to-day. 

The altar, like all else used in the service of the Church, is 
consecrated to the Lord. It is consecrated that sacrifice 
may be offered on it, following the example of Koe, who 
" built an altar unto the Lord * * and offered holocausts upon 
the altar;" s it is consecrated that the name of the Lord may be 
called upon it, following the example of Abraham, " who built 
.... an altar to the Lord, and called upon His name ;" 4 it is 
consecrated to the Lord, that there the praises of Almighty 
God may be sung, following the example of David, who "set 
singers before the altar, and by their voices made sweet 
melody ;" 5 it is dedicated to the service of the Lord, like the 
altar of the tabernacle made by Moses, 6 dedicated like the 
temple made by Solomon. 7 As their sacrifices were figures of 
the Mass, as their altars were figures of our altars, so their 
consecrations were of our consecration. 

The consecration of the altar is one of the longest cere- 
monies of the Church. It begins the night before with the 

1 St. Sophia means Holy Wisdom, that is, the Son of God himself. This great 
church, dedicated by Justinian and Theodora, was commenced in the year 532. In 
1453 when Constantinople fell into the hands of the Turks it was turned into a mosque 
by Mahommed II., and at present is known by the name of the Mosque of St. Sophia. 

3 Martine, De Antiquis Ecclesi* Kitibus. ' 3 Gen. viii. 20. 4 Gen. xii. 8, 

» Eccl. xlvij. 11. • Exod, xj. 10, 7 II. Kings, viii, 



THE BITE OF CONSECRATION. 75 

preparing of the relics of the saints, to be placed in the altar- 
stone, and as a sign of the light of their works and good ex- 
amples two candles are left burning before them. 1 In the 
morning the ceremony begins with the reciting of prayers and 
psalms and of theLitanies, during which is placed the name 
of the saint after which the church is called. Then the bishop 
blesses near the altar the salt, ashes and wine, mixing" them 
with holy water. Dipping his fingers in that mixture, he 
marks the middle of the stone and its four corners with five 
crosses; then going seven times around the altar he prays 
that God may deign to bless it by the invisible work of the 
Holy Ghost, all the time sprinkling it with holy water. 
Forming into a procession, then they bring the relics of the 
saints, and coming place them in the altar-stone, in the little 
place called the sepulchre, which they fill with a cover anointed 
five times with holy chrism. The prayer said during that 
time asks the intercession of the saints whose bones and re- 
mains are placed in the sepulchre of the altar-stone. The 
bishop continues to walk around the altar, which he incenses 
on all sides, anointing it twice with the oil of catechumens and 
holy chrism. These oils are put on in the middle and on the 
four corners of the stone, after which he goes around the 
altar once more, incensing it as before on all sides. Then he 
marks the five places w r here the five grains of incense were 
placed with five crosses, on each of which he places another 
cross made of pure w^hite beeswax, all burning together. 
When all have been finished he kneels before the altar and 
reads or sings the hymn, 2 "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts 
of thy. faithful and kindle in them the fire of thy love." 

Let us see the meaning of these rites and ceremonies. We 
have given only a short summary of the consecration of the 
altar, as all the prayers w T ould be too long. The holy water is 
sprinkled on the altar, for it is blessed in order to receive 
power from God to destroy the evil work of the spirits of 
darkness; it is sprinkled on the altar in order that the altar 
may be sanctified for the holy sacrifice and all power of evil 
spirits driven from it. In the consecration of the altar four 
things are used, w r ater, wine, salt and ashes, for there are 
four things w T hich drive away the evil one, the shedding of 

1 Pontificate Komanum, De Altaris Consecratione. 

2 Diction. Ehcycl. de la Theo. Cath. Autel consecr. de. 



76 MEANING OF THE EITE. 

tears of penance, signified by water; the joy of the mind 
united to God, signified by wine; wisdom in our minds, signi- 
fied by salt; deep humility for our imperfections, signified by 
ashes. The water was before the door of the tabernacle; 1 
the wine was "the wine springing forth virgins," 2 the salt 
was the Christian, " the salt of the earth;" 3 the ashes was that 
of which Abram spoke when he said, " I will speak to my 
Lord whereas I am dust and ashes." 4 

We said that altar signifies Christ, for the rock was Christ, 
the angular stone rejected by the builders which has become 
the head of the corner ; the stone cut from the mountain 
not made with hands that filled the whole earth. 5 The 
water then signifies His humanity, the wine His divinity, the 
salt His celestial doctrine, the ashes His death and His body 
laid in the tomb. 

The seven times going around the altar, the seven grades 
of degradation and humility descended to by Christ in becom- 
ing man : 1. From rich He became poor; 2. Placed in a 
manger; 3. Obedient to His parents; 4. Bowed His head 
under servants; 5. Betrayed by His disciple, a thief; 6. Be- 
nignly delivered Himself into the hands of His judges; 7. 
Was crucified for us. Again, the seven stations of Christ on 
the road to our redemption. From heaven into the breast of 
His mother, from His mother's breast into the manger, from 
the manger into the world, from Jerusalem to the cross, from 
the cross to the tomb, from the tomb into life, from earth 
to heaven.* 

That altar is to be a place on which we are to conquer our ene- 
mies, and as the Israelites marched seven times around Jericho, 7 
and by the power of God its walls fell down, thus we march 
seven time around the altar that Ave may consecrate it to the 
conquering of our old enemy. 

That altar in mystic meaning signifies ourselves, for 
" Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the 
spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 8 If we are the temple of 
God, as every temple has an altar we must have one, and that 
is our heart. And the altar signifying our heart is sprinkled 
seven times to signify and recall to our minds that the Holy 

1 Exod. xl. 7. 2 Zach. ix. 17. 3 Math, v. 13. * Gen. xviii. 27. 

5 Daniel ii. 34, 35. 6 Durand, Rationale Divin. L. L, c. vii. 17. 
T Josue vi. 8 I. Cor. iii. 16. 



CONSECRATION OF ALTARS IN ISRAEL. 77 

Ghost dwells in us with the sevenfold gifts. Sprinkled seven 
times to tell us of the seven gifts which Isaias prophesied 
would come on Christ, 1 seven times to tell us of the seven 
sheddings of our Saviour's blood for us, when He was cir- 
cumcised, when His blood flowed in His prayer in the garden, 
when scourged in Pilate's garden, when His head Avas 
crowned with thorns, when His hands were nailed, when His 
feet were pierced with nails, when His side was opened. 2 
Afterwards the water is thrown into the sacrarium for the 
blood of the victims was thrown at the foot of the altar in 
the law. The altar must not be consecrated without placing 
in it the remains of the saints, 3 that their lives may be for 
us an example. The solemn procession of the morning, 
when they are carried from where they were prepared and 
left between the two burning candles, recalls the solemn 
carrying of the Ark of the Covenant made of the wood of 
setim, moved again in solemn procession at the time when 
the elders of Israel, with the princes of tribes and the heads 
of families, gathered under Solomon to carry the Ark of the 
Covenant into the new temple 4 and placed under the wings of 
the cherubims, when Solomon and all with him went before the 
Ark; and to recall that great dedication of that temple and 
that altar, they all form in procession and bring the relics of 
the saints to place them in the newly-consecrated altar. 
They are placed in the little tomb with three grains of 
incense to tell of the holy body of the great martyr Jesus, 
whose body was wrapped in incense, and the three grains of 
incense tell of the three persons of the Trinity to .whose 
honor the altar is consecrated. They are then placed in 
the sepulchre. 5 

Thus the altar in symbolic and mystic meaning recalls to 
us Christ Himself, the chief corner-stone, 6 that stone cat from 
the mountain not made with hands ; 7 that is, born of the 
Virgin Mary without the ordinary laws of nature, who be- 
came a great mountain and filled the whole earth. He is the 
stone that the builders rejected, the same is become the head 
of the corner. 8 Such is the altar-stone figured by the one 

1 Isaias xi. 2. 2 Durand, Eational Div. L. I. c. vii. 19. 

3 De consecratione dist. 1. de Fab. c. Placuit. 4 III. Kings, viii. 

3 Pope Alexander III. Extra de Consec. Eccle. vel Alt. c. 1. fl Ephes. ii, 20. 

7 Dan. ii. 2. s p sa lni cxvii, 22. 



78 ANOINTING THE ALTAE. 

made by Moses of the wood of setim, figured by the one 
made by Solomon of solid gold, that they might foretell and 
prefigure the altars in our churches. 

The bishop pours oil on that stone, following the example 
of Jacob, who " took the stone which he had laid under his 
head and set it up for a title, pouring oil upon the top of it." 1 
So the bishop pours oil on the stone, making five crosses, one 
in the middle and one at each corner, for the stone signifies 
Christ, the altar of heaven on which our prayers and sacri- 
fices are offered before the Father, the five crosses the five 
wounds in his sacred body, the anointing of the stone the 
anointing of Christ, for He was anointed not in a visible but 
in a spiritual manner by the Holy Ghost, from whence His 
name Christ, from the Hebrew anointed. Chrism is made 
of oil and balsam mixed together, the balsam signifies the 
good odor of sweetness of his good works before the Lord. 

According to a general custom- coming from Apostolic 
times the Christians turned toward the east in prayer and 
for that reason our churches are built so that the people face 
the east, because Paradise lost by our first parents was in the 
east; to that we still send our regrets. Jesus Christ to 
whom we pray is the great " Orient rising fi-om on high" 2 to 
save us, his people. The sun rises in the east, as Jesus, the 
Sun of Justice, will come in the east to judge the world. 
The face of the dying Redeemer on the cross was turned 
toward the east. Such are the reasons that when possible 
the altar is in the east of the church. 3 

i Gen: xxviii, 18. a Luke I. 79. 3 Petit Rational, par Parin, p. 6. 



CHAPTER V. 

REASONS OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE, 

YOU see people kneeling before the altar, or on bended 
knees in the pews; their heads are bowed down beiore the 
Lord upon the altar and their hearts are raised up to God. 
For God is on that altar, that church is a temple built for 
the place of his dwelling, the abiding place of his Majesty. 
To him belong all honors, all prayers, all the ceremonies and 
genuflections — not to images, not to saints, not to the Virgin 
Mary is adoration made, but to the Son of God, our Saviour 
and our Redeemer. To adore a creature would be to commit 
the terrible sin of idolatry, for God alone we can adore. 

You will see at the left-hand side of the altar a little table, 
covered with a white cloth; on it are vessels containing wine, 
water, and sometimes bread. That bread, wine, and water 
is for the Mass. For our Lord Jesus was so good, loved us 
so much, that not only did he die for us, but he also becomes 
our food and drink, to nourish us with himself, with his 
Body and his Blood. He took one body and one soul, born 
of the Virgin Mary, and raised that one body and soul up 
to the throne of the Divinity; that is what we call the in- 
carnation, taking human nature. He went farther in his 
love for the sons and daughters of Adam, he wished to unite 
himself to each one of us, as he did to his own body and 
soul, but he could not, as in the incarnation, but he unites 
himself to us in another way, by going into us and becoming 
our food and drink; not the food and drink of the body, but 
of the soul. Read, on, gentle reader, and you will understand. 
For as the body is nourished by food and drink, so the soul 
is nourished by the communication and participation in the 
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. That is what we call going 
to Holy Communion. And the word communion signifies 
and tells us the nature of what we do, for communion means 



80 THE FOOD A^D DEIXK OF MAtf. 

union with, that is, united with Jesus, our Lord. As the 
principal kinds of food and drink for the body have always 
been bread and wine, for in all times men were nourished by 
these; so to accomodate himself to our customs, Jesus at the 
Last Supper took bread and wine, and changed them into his 
Bod}' and his Blood, that man might eat his Flesh and drink 
his Blood under the form of a food and drink so common in 
the world, 

This may surprise you, gentle reader, but who shall put 
boundaries to the goodness of a God who died for the human 
race; who suffered so much for us? Take your Bible, and 
every one should have a Bible, turn to the sixth chapter of 
St. John. After feeding five thousand with five loaves of 
bread they asked him what sign he would give them. They 
spoke of the manna that their fathers did eat in the desert. 
They did not believe in him, they wanted more proof of his 
Divinity than the miracles he worked. Then Jesus began 
to speak of faith, asking and instructing them in faith, that he 
might prepare them for what was to follow, preparing them 
to believe that he could feed them not with the loaves 
and fishes, but with his Flesh and Blood. "I am the bread of 
life," he says; " your fathers did eat manna in the desert 
and are dead : this is the bread which cometh down from 
heaven: if any man eat of it he may not die. I am the living 
bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of 
this bread he shall live forever* and the bread I will give is 
my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews therefore strove 
among themselves, saying: "How can this man give us his 
flesh to eat ?" You see that the Jews understood of his 
flesh, of the body, and Jesus did not reprove them, as he 
certainly would if they were in error and if he meant faith, 
but said: "Amen, amen, I say to you. Except you eat the 
flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you shall not 
have life in you. He that eateth my flesh and" drinketh my 
blood hath everlasting life, and I will raise him up in the 
last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink 
indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and ^rinketh my blood, 
abideth in me and I in him. As the living Father hath seni, 
me and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me the same 
also shall live by me. This is the bread that came down 
from heaven. ISTot as your fathers did eat manna and are 



HIS PROMISE. 81 

dead. He that eateth this bread shall live forever. . . . 
Many of his disciples hearing it said: This is hard, and who 
can hear it?" 

These are remarkable words of our divine Saviour* He 
speaks of a certain kind of nourishment, that is not faith, 
for he speaks of something new and that he will give at a future 
time. That could not be faith, for faith belonged to all 
times, for by faith in a future Redeemer the Patriarchs and 
Prophets of old were saved; he asked faith in the minds of 
his disciples and of those who listened to him. He promised 
them a kind of bread like to the manna of their fathers in 
the desert, and as that manna was a kind of bread to be 
eaten, so should be the bread he promised them be eaten. He 
carefully distinguishes between food and drink. That would 
not be necessary if he was speaking only of faith. If he 
spoke in a symbolic and figurative sense he used difficult 
figures and most obscure words, which tended to turn the 
Jews against him, as they had a horror and repugnance 
against eating human flesh or drinking human blood. In 
the Greek text it is stronger than in our English Bible. 
Those who do not wish to believe use all kinds of ways in 
order to get out of believing the truth of Christ's presence. 
But these words are so clear, the universal belief of all an- 
tiquity, the writings of the fathers of the Church- who give 
the belief of all ages up to the time of Christ, all these are 
so strong on that point that even Luther himself says, 
"These words are so clear that no angel from heaven, no 
man on earth could speak clearer." If Christ had not in- 
tended changing the bread and wine into his body and his 
blood, he would deceive all the millions of those converted 
by the preaching of his Apostles. He used words like to 
those spoken at the Last Supper when instituting the sacri- 
fice of himself under the appearance of bread and wine. 
And the Apostles, prepared for this by his promise in the 
words we have given, Were not surprised, doubted nothing, 
asked nothing. Christ spoke of our eating his Body and 
drinking his Blood as we eat bread and drink wine. "Thus 
the disciples understood as they said, " This saying is hard 
and who can hear it?" 1 "The Jews therefpre strove among 
themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to 

* John, vi. 61. 



82 AT THE LAST SUPPER. 

eat ?" 1 The words of Christ are to be understood in the 
sense of partaking of his Body and Blood, as he says, "For 
my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed." Now 
to convince them of his power to do this and give them his 
real Body and Blood as their nourishment he calls their atten- 
tion to a miracle. " If then thou shall see the Son of Man going 
up where he was at first." 2 If Christ did not speak of the 
real eating of his Body and drinking of his Blood, he would 
have explained then what he meant and not leave them in 
error. For it says: "After this many of his disci]Dles went 
back and walked no more with him." 3 When our Lord 
taught anything difficult or obscure, he was accustomed to 
explain what he meant and enlighten them if they mistook 
his meaning. Here he gives no explanation, leaves them in 
the impression that he was to give them his Body and his 
Blood to be their food and drink. 

In this passage that I have taken from the sixth chapter 
of St. John, our Lord only promises to give his flesh and 
blood for oar food and drink. Afterwards when about to 
die, "whilst they were at supper Jesus took bread and blessed 
and broke and gave to his disciples and said: Take ye and 
eat: Tiiis is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave 
thanks: and gave to them, saying : Drink ye all of this. For 
this is my blood of the New Testament, which shall be shed 
for many unto the remission of sins." * These words are to 
be received in the true and natural sense, because no reason 
requires any other, because the time and place requires a 
literal meaning, because the form of words admit no figure. 
The person of Christ is the person of God, his words require a 
natural meaning, even where a miracle is supposed for he can 
do all things. He was then about to die, about to 
make his last will and testament; that required all the 
clearness and simplicity possible in his words, as he said: 
"With desire have I desired to eat this pasch with you 
before I suffer." 5 "This is my blood of the New tes- 
tament, which shall be shed for many." 6 He spoke of 
that chalice as containing the blood then in his veins that 
was to be shed for the remission of sins. If that was not 
his Blood how could it be shed for the remission of sins? 

1 John, vi. 53. 2 John, vi 63. 8 John. vi. 67. 

4 Math, xxvi, 26, 27, 28. s Luke, xxii. 15, 6 Mark, xiv, 24. 



THE TESTIMONY OF ST. PAUL. 83 

St. Paul himself received that belief from the Apostles 
after Christ ascended into heaven. For, "I have received 
of the Lord," he says, "that which also I deliver unto you, 
that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was be- 
trayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take 
ye and eat: this is my body which shall be delivered for you; 
this do for the commemoration ofme. In like manner also the 
chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new 
testament in my blood. . . . Therefore whosoever shall eat 
this bread, or drink this chalice of the Lord unworthily, 
shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord, 
and eateth and drinketh to himself judgment, not discerning 
the body of the Lord." 1 Here St. Paul says that he received 
this doctrine from the Lord, that each one must prove him- 
self, but if he go in sin he shall be guilt) 7 of "eating judg- 
ment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord." 
Could words be clearer, telling us that this is the Body of 
the Lord ? Again he says in another place: "The chalice of 
benediction which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it not 
the partaking of the body of the Lord ?" 2 You see how he 
speaks of the Blood of Christ in the chalice and the Body of 
Christ in his hands to be broken. Still again he says: " You 
cannot drink of the chalice of the Lord and the chalice of 
devils; you cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and 
of the table of devils. " 3 Here he condemns those who par- 
take of Holy Communion and then eat the things offered to 
idols in the pagan temples. For those who partake of these 
offerings made to idols take part in their wicked religion, as 
we eating the Eucharist take part in the sacrifice of our re- 
ligion. For as we eat the flesh of Christ from the altar or 
table of the Lord, as the Jews eat the victims offered to the 
Lord' in the ceremonies of the Old Law, thus the Gentiles in 
the ceremonies of their temples were accustomed to eat of 
the victims offered to their false gods. All this supposed the 
real presence of Christ upon the altar. 

The best way of getting at the true meaning of these 
things taught by Christ, is to examine the belief of the first 
Christians, after our Lord ascended into heaven. More than 
sixty-three Fathers and Christian writers speak of the Real 

i I. Cor, xi. 23-3<\ a j Cor. x. 16. 3 Cor, x. 21. 



84 THE BELIEF OF THE EAELY FATHEES. 

Presence between the preaching of the Apostles and the 
sixth century; some explain that mystery, others thank God 
for that gift, others exhort the people to receive it well and 
often. 

Lest we might tire you, gentle reader, we will only give 
you a few passages from writers instructed by the Apostles 
or their followers. 

St. Ignatius, made Bishop of Antioch in the year 69, writing 
against the Gnostics says: "They abstain from the Eucharist 
and from prayer, because they confess not that the Eucha- 
rist is the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

St. Justinus, the Martyr, born in the year 105, explaining 
the Mass to the Roman Emperor Antoninus, savs: "He 
who is the chief among the brethren, taking the bread and 
the vessel of wine and water, giving glory to the Father of 
all, in the name of the Son and Holy Spirit, continues the 
Eucharist. . . Then all the people say Amen. . . But we do 
not take this as common bread or drink, but as for our sal- 
vation, by the Word of God, Jesus Christ was made flesh, 
thus by these prayers we receive the flesh and Hood of the 
same incarnate Jesus Christ." 1 

These two writers are so near to Christ that we must con- 
fess such certainly was the belief of the first Christians and if I 
gave the entire words of St. Justinus to the Emperor, witli 
its prayers and ceremonies and kiss of peace, you would see 
that at that time the Mass was exactly the same as now. 

St. Irena?us, born in the year 135, writing against Marcio 
who taught that Christ's body was not real flesh and blood, 
but of thin air, says; " How could the Lord, if he was inde- 
pendent of the Father, and of our condition, how could he 
receive that bread and change it into his body, and that wine 
into his blood?"' 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, born 315, says; " TThen, therefore, 
Christ himself has promised and says, This is my body, who 
shall hesitate hereafter, and when he himself assented and 
said, This is my blood, who will doubt, saying that it is not 
his blood." 3 In another place he says; "In the species of 
bread he gives us the Body, and in the species of wine he 
gives us the Blood. Xevertheless do not judge the thing 
from the taste, but let faith make it certain without any 

1 Apol. i. n. 65, 66. ' Lib. iv. Adv. Ha?res clvii. s Carechesi, xxii. 



WRITINGS OF APOSTOLIC MEN. 85 

doubt; if you are worthy you are a partaker of the body and 
of the blood of Christ." : Could words be clearer than these 
old writers, venerable for having lived so near to the time of 
Christ ? 

St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Antioch and of Con- 
stantinople, born in theyear 347, says: "Let us everywhere 
be obedient to God, even if what he says appears to be con- 
trary to our reason, let his words prevail over oar reason 
and our intelligence. . . because he said: This is my body, 
let us bow down, let us believe, let us see him with the eyes 
of our soul."* Again: "Formerly it was the pasch of the 
Jews, now that is gone, and there comes the spiritual pasch 
that Christ gave to us. For they eating and drinking, it is 
said, receiving bread he broke and said, This is my body 
that will be broken for you unto the forgiveness of sins. 
Those who know understand what that means. And again 
the chalice, saying : This is my blood that will be spilled for 
the remission of sins. Judas was there whilst Christ was say- 
ing this ! This is the body that you sold, Judas, for thirty 
pieces of silver, for which a moment ago you made an agree- 
ment with the reprobate Pharisees ! O the benignity of 
Christ ! O the malice and insanity of Judas ! He gives 
this his blood that was sold to him (to Judas) for the re- 
mission of his sin ! Judas was there and a partaker at that 
holy table." 3 

St. Ambrose, born in the year 340, says: "Of the bread 
the flesh of Christ is made. . . . But how can that which is 
bread become the Body of Christ ? By consecration. By 
whose words and by whose language does the consecration 
take place? Those of our Lord Jesus Christ. For it was 
not the Body of Christ before the consecration, but I say to 
thee, that after consecration it is now the Body of Christ. 
He said and it was done, he commanded and it was made," *' 

Lest I should tire your patience, I will not give you any 
more of the writings of the Fathers of the times immedi- 
ately following the preachings of the Apostles. But I can- 
not pass over the temptation of giving you only the headings 
of some of that greatest of all minds, St, Augustine. As 
Bishop of Hippo in the north of Africa, he foresaw the 

1 Catechesi. Mystag. 4. 2 Horn, Ixxii. in Math. 3 Horn, de Prodit. Judae. 

4 Lib. 4 de Sacrament, cap iv. 



86 THE GREAT ST. AUGUSTINE. 

ruin of the Roman Empire, and in his writings gathered up 
the belief and practices of the Christians of his time. Of 
Holy Communion here are some of the matters he treats. If 
you have his works you can read what he says of these 
paragraphs. 

"Those who refuse to restore what they have stolen must 
be deprived of Communion;" ! "Disposition for Communion," 3 
"Communion may be sometimes taken every day, sometimes 
at certain intervals," 3 " In some parts of the east many go 
to Communion each day." 4 " Children's Communion." 5 
'' The sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ." 6 "Par- 
taking of the Body and Blood of Christ." 7 "What it is to 
eat the Body of Christ and to drink his Blood, the bread is 
the Body of Christ and the chalice is the Blood of Christ." 8 
"I have received the Body and the Blood of the immaculate 
Lamb in the Church." 9 "Not every bread but that which re- 
ceives benediction becomes the Body of Christ.'" Christ 
carried his own Body in his hands when he said: This is my 
Body." ]J "The great table from whence we receive the 
Body and Blood of Christ Figures of the Eueharist." 12 It 
was prefigured in the bread and wine offered by Melchese- 
dech." i3 The Eucharist is a sacrifice." " " The Phoenician 
Christians call the Body and Blood of Christ life. 15 

Now the question will come into your mind, reader, How 
can Christ be then in the sacrament on the altar and we not 
see him ? Have patience and listen to what I am going to 
tell you. 

Let us listen to what the greatest writers have said regarding 
the way God has made the bodies and visi]>l:e things around 
us. |/There are three theories. The first, taught in ancient 
times bv Pythagoras, renewed in our day by Boscovich 16 and 
Henry Martin," teaches that all bodies are made up of an in- 
finite number of simple elements called monads, having no 
extension; sometimes attracting each other, 1 * then they form 
solids; sometimes neither attracting nor repelling one an- 

1 Sancti A Augustine Opera. Parisiis. apnd Parent De?barres. vol. xl. p. 223. 

» Ibid, xv 304 et xvi, 209. 3 Tbid. xiv. 224. 4 Ibid. xiv. 224. 

6 -Tbid xix 481 et 482. 6 Ibid. xv. 306, xix. 125. 7 Ibid. vi. 401. 

8 Ibid xx. 424. 9 Ibid, xxxviii. 41. 10 Ibid. xx. 204. 

" Ibid, xvii 426. 12 Ibid. vii. 515. 13 Ibid. lii. 324. 

*« Tbid iv 60. 15 Ibid, xxxiii. 296, 297. 

16 Liberatore Inst, Philosopbicoe. vol xi. p. 64. 

i7 Pbilosoplne Spiritualiste de la Nature. 1S Philosophise Naturalis Theona de. 



THEEE GREAT THEORIES . 87 

other, then they make the liquids; again repelling each 
other, then it is a gas. They are all of the same nature and 
are supposed to have free will and intelligence, but they 
form the different kinds of visible thing, by the way they 
are arranged among themselves, as all the books printed are 
made up of alphabets. This theory has had but few supporters. 

The second theory, taught in ancient times by Empedocles, 
Democritus, Epicurus andLeucipus, renewed in modern times 
by Newton, DesCartes, Bacon, Tyndall, Helmholtz, and 
all naturalists of our day, holds that all visible things are 
made of a great number of little bodies called atoms, exceed- 
ing small and indestructible. A number of them together 
form a molecule, and a great number a body. These atoms 
and molecules have attraction and repulsion for all existing 
visible things; when only among themselves it is called mo- 
lecular attraction or repulsion; when it is attraction between 
great masses, as the stars and planets, it is called universal 
gravitation. If the attraction between the atoms be very 
great, they unite and form a solid; if the attraction and re- 
pulsion be the same, so as to balance, they make a liquid; if 
the repulsion be the strongest, we have the gas. Where the 
atoms are all of the same nature there is the simple sub- 
stance, which cannot be reduced into any other two or more 
substances different f om itself, as gold, iron, etc. Sixty-seven 
simple substances are known at the present time. If the 
body can be divided into two or more materials, different 
from itself, it is called a compound substance, and nearly all 
the things around us are thus composed of many different 
kinds of atoms or molecules united in various proportions. 

The third theory of the composition of bodies or sensible 
things around us, is the one held by Plato, Aristotle, St. 
Augustine, St. Austin and all great writers of antiquity, 
always taught by the greatest writers of every age, believed 
to be the true one by St. Thomas, St. Bonaventure, Suarez 
and Leibnt.tz, in fact, by all the greatest writers who ever 
existed, both ancient and modern. They say that all physi- 
cal and visible things around us are composed of matter and 
form. The matter is the same m all things, the form is 
different in each. The matter has no shape, no color, noth- 
ing but extension. The form given it at its creation makes 
it of such a shape, such an appearance, such a color, such a 



88 HOW MATTER IS MADE. 

taste, in fact, makes it a being different from all others. 
Thus they say in the begining the world was without shape, 
void and chaos till God, by giving it a form, made it as it is. The 
form is not be taken in the sense of shape, but as the root and 
principle from which comes all color, shape, attraction, taste, 
in fact, every thing which acts on our senses and makes one 
thing different from another. The matter then is the cause 
of width, breadth, and thickness only m natural things, the 
form is the cause of all other properties. Take away the matter, 
leaving the form, and everything appeals as before, take 
away the form and nothing is seen, as the properties acting 
on the senses are gone. According to the laws of nature 
this can never take place, and is only done by the power of 
God, and is a miracle. We can never see the matter of a 
thing, as it is invisible; we see the qualities of the form, for 
that is what acts on our senses. The matter of which we 
have been speaking is called the appearance or species. Xow, 
reader, you have five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting 
and feeling. By these you perceive only the form, or ap- 
pearances or species of things; that is, with your eyes you 
can see the whiteness of bread, its shape and color; with your 
tongue you can perceive its taste, you can smell it, touch it, 
feel it, and by these find its odor, its shape, its figure, and 
its form; but with none of these senses can you perceive the 
matter or substance of any thing. Only by our minds do we 
know that the substance of bread is under these appearances 
or species and caused it to act on our senses by the form of 
that bread; only by our mind do we conclude from their ap- 
pearance, touch, weight or color that such is gold, such is 
silver, such iron, for we never see the substance of these 
things. The animals, having no minds like us, no reasoning 
power like man, can never judge of the substance within, 
but they have five senses like us and they are attracted or 
repulsed by the sight, smell, hearing or feeling of things, 
and act by instinct given them by the Creator for the pres- 
ervation of the individual or the race. 

After studying deeply all these theories of visible things 
we must come to the conclusion of rejecting the first and 
second, and holding to the third, as it explains better the 
things of nature around us. This is not the place to go 
deeper into this matter, lest, if we did, we would not be un- 



THE TRUE DOCTRINE. 89 

derstood by the simple. Such then, reader, is the true teach- 
ing. Thus we know that such a thing is bread as it is heavy, 
c'old, white or grayish ; and by its color, its weight, its taste, 
its hardness, do Ave know that bread is there, all these are 
what are called species of the thing, while by an act of the 
mind we know that such a thing is there, that the substance 
of that is bread, while we by our senses perceive or see only 
the whiteness, the taste, the' color, the figure, the appearance; 
in a word, the species of bread. The senses then perceive 
the, species only, the mind perceives the substance. Wher- 
ever we see the species we judge naturally that under them is 
substance, or material, that we cannot see by the senses, but by 
an act of the mind. I am speaking now of all things, all 
bodies, all material things upon the earth; they are, according 
to the writings of great men, made up of two things, species 
that we perceive with our five senses, substance that we per- 
ceive by our mind. The species are without and seen with 
our senses, the substance within seen with the mind, judged 
by us to be within and hidden by the species. As the species 
differ, that is, as the color, figure, weight, taste and appear- 
ance differ, we judge that under and behind these appearances, 
color, weight and figures are different substances or materials 
agreeing with and natural to these appearances or species. 

I do not like to tire you too much, or I would tell you 
what the greatest writers say about species and substances, 
for all from the time of Plato and Aristotle before Christ to 
the times of St. Angustine and Anselm, to the time of 
St. Thomas and up to our day, have written about species 
and substance. 

At the words of the consecration, by the power of God 
the substance of the bread and the substance of the wine 'are 
changed into the substance of the body and blood of Jesus 
Christ. Now Christ could be there on the altar in three 
ways, either by uniting himself to the bread, as he did to his 
body and soul; or by being present with the bread, uniting 
with nothing, nothing changing; or by the substance of the 
bread changing into his body, and the substance of the wine 
into his blood. The latter way is the true manner. The 
whole substance of the bread changes into the substance of 
the body of Christ, and the whole substance of the wine 
changes into the substance of his blood, the species of bread 



90 CHANGES IN NATURE. 

and wine remaining only. That is the true Catholic belief, 
given by the Council of Trent. " That is, the whole material 
or substance of bread is changed into the material of the 
body of Christ, and the whole material of the wine is changed 
into the material of his blood, the species or appearances of 
bread and wine remaining unchanged." ' As you cannot see 
the substance of anything, you cannot see the substance of 
bread before consecration, as the species remain the same; 
there is no change in them and they appear just the same 
after the consecration as before, as nothing in their appear 
ance has taken place. 

Do not be surprised at this that takes place. Nothing is 
impossible with God. You eat bread and that bread is 
changed into your flesh, — your whole body is made up of 
food that by the power of God has been changed into your 
body. So the bread is changed into the body of Christ, — 
not into his divinity, for the divinity cannot change, nor can 
anything be changed into it, but into his body; and as his 
body is a creature made by the operation of the Holy Ghost, 
and as the bread is a creature, it is the changing of one 
creature into another. We see that taking place every day 
around us in the changes and growth of the things of the 
world. The difference is that those growths and changes 
take place slowly and so often that no one is surprised, while 
the change from the bread and wine into his Body and 
Blood takes place in an instant at the words of conse- 
cration, and all by the power of God. Thus the substance 
of the bread is changed into the substance of that body 
born of Mary — one creature changed into another. The 
Divinity of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity from the 
moment of the Incarnation united to that body, never to 
separate from it.' Even when dead upon the cross, the Di- 
vinity was with that body and with that blood. 3 At the mo- 
ment of the resurrection, that Blood and that Soul entered 
into his Body, thus with Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity com- 
plete and entire, Christ rose from the dead never again to 
die or separate; a glorious body rising from his victory over 
death and hell. Wherefore, where is the Body of Christ, 

1 Condi . Trident. Sess. 13 Can. 2. 

2 St. Thomas 3 q. 50. 30, et 52, 3. c. et q. 58 4 c. 

3 St. Thomas 3 q 50, 2, et 3, ad 1, et 4, ad 1, et q. 52 3 c. 
* St. Thomas 3 q 25, 2 c. 



A SPIRITUAL BODY. 91 

there is his Blood, his Soul, his Body and his Divinity; the 
whole Christ is there. 

You will notice that the Body of our Lord was impassible 
and immortal. When he rose from the dead his body passed 
through the solid rock. 1 Then an " angel rolled back the 
stone," 2 again, "he suddenly appeared in the midst of them" 3 
and at another time, " When it was late that same day. . . 
and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered 
together for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the 
midst." 4 He was not the same as before his death. His 
body was now glorified, that is, made as near like a spirit as 
it is in the power of God without losing its qualities as a 
material substance. His body then partakes, to a certain 
extent, of the nature of a spirit. Now a spirit is like a 
thought, can be in any place, can be in a small or a large 
place, can be in many places and all at the same time. It is 
an article of our Faith that Christ is in each particle and in 
each piece of bread or drop of wine, a separation having 
taken place, 5 that is, Christ is wholly and entirely in each 
particle of bread, and in each part of the wine, and if the 
bread and wine be divided he is entire in each part, so that, 
as many as there are separate particles, Christ is in each 
whole and entire; as God is in the world and wholly and 
entire in each part of the world. Thus Christ is in each host 
like God in the world, although not entirely as God is in the 
world, as God is a Spirit, eternal, everywhere present, while 
Christ's body is a creature and cannot be everywhere as 
perfect as the Divinity. 6 " Separation being made," it says, 
for the council did not define if it be there before the 
separation takes place. The words of our Lord tell it when 
he says to his Apostles ° he that eateth me the same also 
shall live by me " 7 and also "whosoever shall eat this bread 
or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty 
of the body and of the blood of the Lord. " 8 Here it says 
that whether you take but the Body, you will be guilty 
also of the Blood, and if you take but the* Blood, you will be 
guilty also of the Body. St. Ignatius writing about the 
heretics of his time says, they abstain from the Eucharist 

1 Schouppe Theo. Dogmat Tract 249. 2 Math xxviii. 2. 3 Luke xxiv 36. 

4 John xx 19. 5 Concil. Trid. Sess. 13. can. 3. 

6 Schouppe, Theo, Dogmat. Vol. -si. 223. • John vi. 58. 8 Cor. xi. 27. 



92 BODY, BLOOD. SOUL A3D DIVINITY. 

and from prayer, 1: ?eause they do not confess the Eucharist 
to be the flesh of oni Saviour Jesus Christ. 1 St Cyril of 
m says that when we receive Holy Communion ^ 
beci wet iersof Uh 

His whole Divinity, Bo V Soul and ^ D g nn - 

those 1 receive his Body receive him whole and entire; 
therefore, those who go to the altar receiving mly the Com- 

::;":".:::: \-.::\~i' o::e ^ eoie-5 receive Christ whole and entire, 
and for good reasons was the custom of receiving the blood 
allowed to go out of practice, s thei a was always danger of 
spilling, and sometimes without thinking they pnt their 
handkerchiefs to the lips and thus a danger of irreve: 
was always there. For these reasons, we give the ^aera- 
ment now only in one form, that of the Body under the 
ies :: bread, and also to give i don of learning to 

drink. 

Christ's body then is in a manner like a spirit, and as a 
in a large or a small place. - : C hnst's 1 ly can 
be in a large w sm ill a se of bread. We car;:. per- 

-•f our senses, for how can yon see a spirit, 
for no spirit can be seen by corporal eye- ? It Las been de- 
fined that when a e ition is made in the bread, be is 
til e in each piece, 8 but he most : rnnion belief 
is, that he is whole and entire in each fore they are 

ler. There remai art of the 

only its appearance oi Christ remains in the Sacra- 

ment tftl the spe a j changed, that if consecration had 

not U would not becalle by the com- 

mon voice of people; Christ is there and must be adored as 
though we saw him with our eye-. F : ding on 

Is, This is my be ly, knowing these i Is tc the same 
as, Id this yon will take my : founding our faith on his 

m neith e nor be dc 

him on the altar, as St. Augustine says: "X >ne shall eat 
that flesh until he first shall adore :t." : TTe ale 
from the most ancient tin: — , going back to the _ the 

A] -ties, from the practice of the Greek Church which - 
arated from us in the ninth century, from the customs of 
_ the Holy Sacrament in the houses of the people to 

st. ad Smvrn. cap. 8. * Catech Mvstas. -L 3 Concil. Flor. et Trident. 

-ciL Trident S , - - . : i Can. 2 et Concil. 'Constant. Sess. S. * In Psalm xciii. 



r - UNITED WITH HIS ADOEEES. 93 

be adored during times of persecutions, that all people in 
the Church adored our Lord in the Sacrament from the most 
remote ages. We read in the life of St. Eudoxia that be- 
fore she delivered herself for the last' time into the hands of 
bad men, when she was " commanded to get ready in a short 
time, she hastened to the altar on which the divine gift of 
the remains of the most holy Body of Christ was kept hid, 
the particle she took in her bosom, and directly went with 
the soldiers." ' 

At the words of consecration by the power of God the 
whole semblance of the bread and wine is changed into the 
whole substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, the species 
or external qualities or appearances of bread and wine re- 
maining. Christ is there, as he promised, as all Christians 
believed up to the times of the preaching of the Apostles 
He is there, whole and entire, with all qualities and powers 
of soul and body. His beautiful and perfect body now 
glorified is there, his happy soul now rejoicing in the vision 
of God and the brightness of heaven is there, and there above 
is the Divinity of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. 
His body has all its nerves, muscles, bones, members and the 
five wounds where he was wounded for our sins. His body 
has not now its actual size and extension, because it is like a 
spirit and can be in a large or small place. But he cannot 
exercise any bodily action as of the senses, he cannot see us 
with his eyes, he does not speak to us with his tongue or any 
other thing that we do with our members, because for that 
a certain size and condition of our members are required 
that we call physical, but he sees us with the eyes of his 
Divinity and of his holy Soul, and holds most lovely conver- 
sations with his adorers by the grace he sends into their 
hearts, and by the mutual act of love passing between his 
worshippers and himself. You perhaps have felt that sweet 
influence of his presence, that warmth of heart, that attrac- 
tion and love, that indescribable feeling, that we cannot de- 
scribe in words, when in the silence of the Church, you 
knelt before Jesus on the altar. He was speaking to you 
then. He cannot then suffer cold or heat or be touched, 
wounded, or in any way injured like we can during our 

1 Bolland, Acta SS! Martyr, Tome I p. 91,'cap. xiii n 14, 



94 CHRIST OUR BROTHER. 

time in this life, because his body now is like a spirit, while 
ours are still of the earth earthly, while his since his resur- 
rection is of the heavens, heavenly. By his power he keeps 
the species or appearances of bread and wine there, although 
there is no subsiance of bread or wine, and he follows 
them, and is under them in every motion that is given them. 
Such then is the great work of Jesus Christ, a series of 
miracles and of mysteries — by words the substance of bread 
is changed into the body of Christ 1 — the appearance or 
species of bread remain without the substance of bread, — it 
looks and tastes like bread, but it is not, it is the Body of 
Christ, — an entire human body is within the space of a little 
piece of bread, — that same body is in different places, in 
thousands of. churches in the w r orld at the same time, — that 
same body is on earth covered and veiled by the appearance 
of bread there in an humble state, and at the same time it 
is in a glorious state in heaven, on the throne of God. 
Do not be surprised, it is the same Christ that lowered 
himself, that did so much for our salvation. Do not be 
surprised, it is the same body that was crucified, he does 
not suffer now, and if you are surprised that he does such 
things now for us, remember those three nights and days 
of his passion, and what he went through, and how he 
humbled himself for us and think that he is the same God- 
man as then, that he can perform as many miracles now 
as then, that he loves this generation as much as that, that 
he will never cease performing wonders for the salvation of 
the human race. He loves us, the sons and daughters of 
Adam, he is our brother, he is our lord, he is our lover, and 
in this the greatest sign of his predilection, he has told us 
with what love he has loved us, let us bow down our heads 
and hearts before him and adore and tell 
our faith." 

i Schouppe Theo. Dogniat. vol. ii. De Euchar. n. 22. 



CHAPTER VI. 

REASONS FOR HAVING LATIN. 

GOING into the Church we find everything carried on in 
Latin, the Mass, the Vespers, the funeral services, the 
administering of the Sacraments; the language of the Church 
is not that of any modern people, but the tongue spoken by 
the people of the Roman Empire. Why do we not have it 
so that we can understand it ? There are good reasons for 
this, reader. 

Latin was the language spoken by the ancient people of 
Rome. At that time, Greek alone excepted, all other tongues 
were rough and barbarous compared with it. Centuries be- 
fore Christ it had been cultivated and refined by Rome's 
most gifted sons. Virgil had worked on it, Horace refined 
it, Tactitus and Caesar had purified it, Cicero and Quintillian 
had delivered their orations and written their masterly works 
in it. The poets, the philosophers, the orators and the 
statesmen of the fairest portions of the world had worked to 
beautify that tongue till at length it became the finest, the 
sweetest, the most beautiful, and the most cultivated of the 
languages of men. And is it not just and right that we use 
so cultivated and so beautiful a language in the praises of 
the Lord ? 

At the time of our Lord, Rome had sent forth her soldiers 
into nearly every part of the known world, and her Empire 
stretched from the Straits of Gibraltar nearly to the 
rivers of India, and from the borders of the Great Desert to 
the forests of the north of Europe and the bleak Highlands 
of Scotland. Everywhere they had been victorious, and the 
conquered tribes and nations adopted their language, till the 
larger part of ancient Europe became nearly as latinized 
as the Romans themselves; and for that reason we find that 
the framework of nearly all the modern languages of 



96 SPOKEN LANGUAGES CHANGE. 

Europe is Latin. More than half our English, two-thirds of 
the French, three-fourths of the Spanish, and nearly all the 
Italian words are of Latin origin. Thus it became the 
mother-tongue of Europe; and is it not just and right that 
the Church, the civilizer of Europe, should have in her 
services that tongue which is the mother of all the others ? 

We alone go back more than eighteen 'centuries, and as a 
remembrance of our ancient origin we keep that language 
of the Roman Empire to show all men that we alone came 
from that olden time of Apostles, of Martyrs, and of Christ. 
For at that time the language spoken in Pilate's court, when 
our Lord was tried and condemned to death, was Latin. The 
inscription on the cross was in the same. The soldiers 
around the top of Calvary guarding the dying Son of God 
spoke Latin. The guard about the tomb spoke the same. St. 
Paul wrote it. The Apostles j^reached in it. Each nation 
of the civilized world at that time knew it. When you see 
the services of the Church in Latin think of her antiquity 
and that she alone of all the things of earth goes back to 
the times of the Roman Empire, to the times of the Apos- 
tolic age; thus she has kept the Latin to tell all men that 
she came from that olden time of Christ. 

Every language spoken changes. From generation to 
generation the words lose their meaning, till at length it is a 
speech different from the original. The Latin, spoken first 
by the people of Italy, by the lapse of time has become the 
Italian; the Hebrew tongue, so pure in the time of the Patri- 
archs and Prophets, at the time of Christ had changed into 
the Syro-Chaldaic; the English of old is no more the Eng- 
lish of to-day, as we see by the language of the Bible trans- 
lated in the sixteeth century, and the books printed in the 
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries can be read only with dif- 
ficulty. The people of Canada differ in their language from 
the people of France; the people of the United States speak 
no more the exact English of their forefathers from England; 
thus, little by little the spoken words lose their meaning, take 
other shades different from that which they once had, till 
at length the words are no more the same as of old. 

Words are like so many vessels which hold the ideas, the 
thoughts, and the doctrines. While the words remain the 
same, the ideas and the doctrines will not change. When 



ONE HEAD, ONE TONGUE. 97 

the words change, the doctrine will soon be lost. The teach- 
ing and the doctrine left us by our Lord and the Apostles 
must be the same to-day as when first it was preached on 
Judea's hills. And to keep that doctrine pure and unal- 
tered, the Church uses the Latin, because it is a dead language,, 
so it keeps the truths without changing ; and the words that 
St. Augustine and St. Ambrose used in the fifth century, 
and the language of St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure in the 
thirteenth century are the same to-day as then, and as they 
were when St. Paul wrote his Epistles, and long before these 
times when the Roman soldiers went forth to conquer. And 
if the Church had not that one unchanging language, in the 
natural course of .things,, in a little time her doctrine and 
her teaching would change as the modern tongue would 
lose its meaning, she would soon cease to preach and teach 
the same to-day as in olden times. 

The Church is not of one nation or for one people, but the 
Son of God founded her to teach one doctrine to all nations 
composing one human race. Humanly speaking this would 
be impossible without one tongue. Soon she would be 
divided into as many religions as there are peoples ; each 
nation would have a Church of its own ; a church of 
men insteact of a Church of God, and they would no more_ 
be united by one language. That has always taken place 
when any nation or people gave up the Latin and used the 
modern languages in their services, as we see in the national 
Church of Russia, and the established Church of England. 

At the building of the Tower of Babel began that division 
of tongues that separated all nations and that has been such 
a great obstacle to the progress of the Gospel. The Church, 
by adopting one language, was to repair in a certain manner 
what the human race lost at that time, and to bring back 
and unite again the nations in one tongue, one religion ; 
she uses one language that from the rising to the setting of 
the sun there might be one fold and one Shepherd, as there 
is but one race of Adam, one earth, and one God in heaven; 
that she does by using everywhere the Latin. 

Formed of many nations, we have one head and we must 
be in direct union with that head in Rome ; and although 
there are nearly three thousand languages and dialects in the 
world, there is one in which we can at any time address our 



98 SAME DOCTRIKE EVERYWHERE. 

common father, the clergy can speak to him of whatever 
nation they may come. Thus the language of people may 
differ, and they may not know what each other are saying, 
but there is one language, the Latin, which unites them 
together and to Rome, for, from whatever nation the clergy 
may come, they all receive their education in Latin ; and if 
one comes from China and the other from America, although 
of different education and training, as men of nations so 
separated, yet they can always speak with each other ; their 
religious belief is precisely the same ; their ideas of religion 
do not differ, as they studied the same books, learned the 
same doctrine from the same works written in Latin. Thus 
you see how the Church is one in doctrine, in teaching, and 
in belief ; the services precisely tile same, no matter in what 
country you may be ; all in the Church is the same as you 
saw at home in your childhood. Thus our doctrine is the 
same and our services in every nation. We believe a doctrine 
the same as the most ancient Christians, as we read their 
works and study their writings in Latin. We are then the 
Universal Church both with regard to all times and to all 
places, and there is no change in our services in any part of 
the world. 

Latin is the most widely spread and best known language 
in the world. The students of all universities are instructed 
in it, the professors of every college teach it, the men of 
learning know it ; Sir Isaac Newton wrote his works in it ; 
the Latin poems of John Milton are celebrated; Leibnitz's theo- 
logical system was composed in it ; Descartes, Mallebranche, 
Kant, Bacon, Locke and all these great men who shaped the 
ideas of mankind knew it. More men know Latin than any 
other tongue. For while many millions know modern 
tongues, these tongues are unknown outside the nations 
where they are spoken, while Latin is known in every school 
of learning throughout the whole world and is found in 
every place. Law books are filled with quotations in it ; the 
doctors write their prescriptions in it ; the botanist names 
his newly discovered plant in it ; the scientist puts a Latin 
name to the secrets of nature he has found, and the inventor 
seeks a Latin name for the machinery he finds useful for 
man's happiness ; thus Latin is the language of the learned, 
and is it not just and right that the Church, the mother of 



THE LANGUAGE OF RELIGION A SCIENCE. 99 

learning, the teacher of nations and the civilizer, should 
adopt that tongue from the beginning and cultivate and 
preserve it? For at the time that the Roman Empire was 
destroyed by the Goths, the Yisgoths, the Huns and the bar- 
barians of the Northwest of Europe, when they came down 
in hordes of savages, when sweeping everything before them, 
they wiped out the civilization of ancient Greece and 
Rome, in these dark times the Church alone was the saviour 
and the guardian of culture, of learning, and of religion. 
She brought at length these rough men into her fold, she 
instructed them, she civilized them, she taught them her 
doctrines, instilled into them from age to age her virtues, 
and made Europe what it is, the most civilized portion of 
the earth. Are there not then good reasons for using in her 
services that Latin that goes back so far ; that tells us of the 
learning of the ancients ; that opens up to us the literature 
of the great writers of every age and country ; that puts us 
in union with Rome no matter of what nation we may be, and 
in close relationship with each othe^, making us one people 
and one tongue ? Thus you see some of the reasons w 7 hy 
Latin is used. English is the language of business and of 
commerce, French is the language of diplomacy and of the 
courts of emperors and of kings, but Latin is the tongue of 
religion and of learning. In the hands of the great saints 
and fathers of the Church it became more precise and exact 
than among the Romans ; each word took a definite mean- 
ing, with no doubt or obscurity, and that clearness and 
exactness, that force of expression, that power of words is 
so great that the works of the great masters cannot be trans- 
lated with all their beauties as we have no words that will 
bear their meaning in exact terms. 

Every day we hear cursing and swearing in the mouths of 
bad men. We do not wish to use at the altar the language 
in which God is so often insulted. Such is the nature of 
man ; familiarity begets contempt and destroys that aw T e and 
reverence attached to holy things. In the old Law among 
the Jews, their sacrifices, and prayers, and services were not 
'in the language of the common people of the time of Christ, 
but in the pure Hebrew, that long before had ceased to be 
spoken or understood but among the priests of the temple, 
as 't had changed into Syro-Chaldaic during their captivity of 



100 LATIN DURING A GENERAL COUNCIL. 

seventy years in Babylon. Thus the services of the temple 
at the time of our Lord were in a dead language. 

In our Church the people can get, and most of them have 
books with the Latin on one side and the English on the 
other, so that they can understand all the service as though 
it was in English. 

It is during a general council that the utility and the 
excellence of the Latin language is seen. A council is like a 
synod, a senate of the universal Church ; for there are united 
the bishops of the world ; it is a legitimate convention of the 
pastors of the Church gathered together from all parts of 
the earth to teach and legislate in things relating to faith, 
morals and discipline. These things relating to faith and 
the principles of morality never change, for as truth 
cannot increase or diminish, so the truth left by Christ must 
be the same forever, to the end of time, and if a new truth 
appears to be proclaimed, it is not a new thing, but the new 
proclaiming of a truth believed from the dawn of Christian- 
ity. Things relating to discipline change, for the customs, 
the manners of peoples differ ; the governments, the nations, 
their conditions, their positions, their standings, may not 
be the same now as in olden times, and for that reason the 
Church will make new laws to acco mmodate herself to her 
children, as the Legislature at the capital and Congress in 
Washington change and make laws, so the Church makes 
laws for different parts of the world, and at different ages 
from the time of Christ. Such then is a general council. It 
must be called by the centre, the head of the Church ; by 
him or by his authority ; it must be an invitation to all the 
Bishops of the world ; it must be composed of these 
present ; it must be a universal gathering, a gathering of 
provinces, of states, of nations, of kingdoms and of empires ; 
and is, therefore, an assembly of nations as well as of 
Bishops ; it must be a body not mutilated, without a head, 
but united to the Roman Pontiff ; it must be presided over 
by him, or by his legate ; it must be such that each is free 
and has liberty of speech and without fear; it must be so,, 
that all, or the larger part present, give their consent to the 
decisions ; it must be that the Roman Pontiff gives his con- 
sent and publishes the decrees of the council, then they are 
binding on the world. 



LATIN, GREEK, AND HEBREW. 101 

Here are these men from all parts of the world, from every 
quarter of the globe, from the rising to the setting of the 
sun, of every language, of every tongue, of every dialect, of 
different customs, of different manners, of different training, 
of different education, all these gathered there, how could 
they talk, how could they deliberate or go on with their 
business without that one tongue, that one language, Latin? 
You see here the beauties of that tongue, you see here the 
utility of that one language, you see here how impossible it 
would be for the Universal Church to act as one body without 
that Latin. The work of the Councils of the Church would 
be like the building of the Tower of Babel. With it all is 
harmony, unity, fraternity ; and tracing back the history of 
the councils from the Vatican to that of Trent, of the four 
Laterans, of the two Lyons, of the four of Constantinople, of 
the two of Nice up to the first held by the Apostles at 
Jerusalem, we find they always had one language and one 
tongue. 

The most ancient and cultivated languages of the world 
are the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ; the first goes back to the 
cradle of the human race, the two last beyond the dawn of 
history into the mists of fable ; in these three languages, 
ancient and venerable, Mass is said; mostly in Latin, for that 
was the tongue of the people of the world at the preaching 
of the Apostles ; partly in Greek, because the Scriptures were 
translated into it in the times of the Ptolemies ; partly in 
Hebrew, to tell all men that we succeed to the ancient rites 
and ceremonies of that Jewish temple burned under Titus 
forty years from our Lord's ascension. The Kyrie of the 
Mass, the Agios of Good Friday are in Greek, while the 
Hebrew has the Sanctus and the Graduals. 

The Eucharist, the Baptism, and the words used in the. 
Church were in ancient times derived from the Greek. 

In the larger part of the Catholic Church, that is, the part 
called the Western Church, all the services are in Latiu, nor 
are we allowed to say Mass or administer the sacraments in 
any modern tongue. 1 In the same way no one can change the 
other rites without sin, 2 but must keep to his rites and cere- 

1 Clemens XI., Const. Unigenitus. Pius VI. Const. Auctorein Fidei. Concil. Tndent 
s. xxi, c. ix. 

2 Scavini, Theo. Moral, vol. iii. p. 650. 



102 ANCIENT KITES AND LITUKGIES. 

monies. And if we ask whence is the origin of these rites 
and ceremonies and tongues used in the different divisions 
of the Church, we say they come from the time of the 
Apostles, both in the Eastern and Western Churches, For 
history tells us that after the ascension of our Lord, for 
fourteen years the Apostles remained at Jerusalem; 1 and that 
during that time they celebrated the divine offices many 
times, although once only is mentioned; 2 there they held 
the first council, the first of so many other great councils of 
the Church, there" they drew up that simple yet profound 
rule of faith, the Apostles' Creed; there they placed on his 
Episcopal throne as Bishop of Jerusalem, James the Apostle, 
called the Pius. ; there they framed those Liturgies and 
chose the language in which the Divine Mysteries were to be 
celebrated ; there they united at the death and burial 
of the Virgin Mother of God ; there they said good-bye, and 
separated to meet no more till they united again in Heaven 
decked with the martyr's crown. 

As monuments of their work at Jerusalem we find the 
different liturgies of the Eastern and Western Churches. 
The Liturgies are the rites, ceremonies and languages, 
according to which the Sacrifice is offered, the Sacraments 
administered, and all the Offices of the Church performed. 
They are, the Liturgy of St. James in Syriac, the Liturgy 
of St. Basil in Greek, the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom Greek, 
the Liturgy of St. Mark in Copti,c, and the Liturgies of the 
Armenians and Maronites, and of all these Eastern nations 
in union with the Holy See, who use some form of those 
Liturgies. 3 

In the Western Church we have the Liturgy of the Apos- 
tles or Roman, one of these used by them in Jerusalem, the 
Liturgy of St. Ambrose like the Roman, the Liturgy of the 
Gallicians brought from the east by St. Irenius and St. 
Prothenius and like the Eastern Liturgies, the Mozarabic 
like the Gallician, used in Spain till the eleventh century. 

Of these, the most venerable for its antiquity and its 
authority, the most widely dispersed, is the Liturgy of the 
Apostles ; brought from Antioch by the Prince of the 
Apostles ; by him taught to the Romans in times of persecu- 



' Eusebius Hist. Eccl. L. v. c. 18. - Acts xiii. 2. 

3 Pellicia De Christ. Eccl. Policia 31, t. 1. s. 2. c. 7. 



THE NINE RITES. 103 

tion, heard in the Catacombs, sung amid the mountains, 
chanted in desert fastness, now used everywhere the Catholic 
Church has spread ; for according to that liturgy we say 
Mass, and administer the Sacraments, and say the Office, and 
perform all ecclesiastical duties ; its language is Latin, its 
forms are striking, its rites majestic, its history old as 
Christianity, its ceremonies full of life ; it strikes the heart 
of man by *its solemnity, it tells him truth by its every word, 
its every gesture, its every tone, and its every action. We 
will explain that Liturgy in this book. 

Those who are united with the Centre of unity are allowed 
to use these forms and ceremonies that were composed by 
the Apostles, whether it be in Greek, Coptic, Syriac, or one 
of the ancient languages, but they are not allowed to change 
in anything, nor are they allowed to change from one to 
another without sin. 

Those who belong to the Western Church, called Western 
for occupying the west of Europe, are to use the Apostolic 
rite, called the Latin Rite. That is the Liturgy of this part 
of the Church. The prayers at Mass, the words of admin- 
istering the Sacraments, the theological works, the letters of 
the Popes, all things belonging to the Church are in that 
language. The students learn it, they recite it, they speak 
it, they write it, they compose in it, they make all their 
studies in that tongue, so that they become as familiar with 
it as with their own. For many years they listened to it, 
so that it is as it were no more a dead but a living language 
to them, so that thus they being spread in various parts of 
the world, speaking so many tongues and belonging to so 
many nations, still they are one people, one nation, one 
family in the Church ; for that Latin language makes them 
one. 

Thus to-day the Holy Sacrifice is offered by the Catholics 
in every part of the world, in nine different languages. In 
Latin in all parts of the Western Church; in Greek by the 
Uniat or Melchites of the £ast, scattered through different 
parts of Syria, Russia, Greece and Eastern Europe ; in 
Syriac by the Maronites and Melchites of the East; in Chaldaic 
by the countries once comprising ancient Chaldea, as Mes- 
opotamia, Armenia and Khurdistan ; in Sclavonic among the 
Catholics of Istria, Leburnia, and what was once called Dal- 



104 THE SIX BOOKS. 

matia; in Wallachian by the Wallaehians; in Armenian by 
the people of Armenia, Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, 
Georgia, Greece, Africa, Italy, and parts of Russia ; in Cop- 
tic by Copts of Egypt, Nuniidia, and Arabia; in Ethiopic 
by the Abyssinians. 1 Such are the languages in which the 
Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. But these languages are all 
dead. They are not spoken in common by the people. They 
are the ancient languages of those people, that like the 
Latin and the Hebrew, have changed so that they are now 
dead, spoken no more in common, but used in their services. 
Now none but their priests understand these languages, so 
that they are like the Catholics of our churches worshipping 
in dead languages. 

Latin then is the language used in all parts of the Catholic 
Church, and these other tongues are only used, and with the 
exception of the Greek they are tolerated by the tacit con- 
sent of the Popes. All books are in Latin in the Western 
Church. 

These are the six books used by the Western Church, the 
Missal, the Ceremonial of Bishops, the Pontifical, the Ritual, 
the Martyrologv, and the Breviary. 2 The Missal is that large 
book you see on the altar, it is used in the celebration of 
the Mass. The Pontifical is the book you sometimes see in 
the hands of the Bishops, and is used by them in fulfilling the 
duties of the Episcopacy. The Ritual is the book seen in 
the hands of the clergy," and is used by them in the adminis- 
tration of the Sacraments. The Breviary is that book 
always carried by the clergy in sacred orders, and from it is 
said the Office, which is the* prayer of the Church, and each 
one from the sub-deacon up to the Pope, from the day of his 
ordination to the day of his death, unless some very grave 
reason excuses him, he must recite the Office from the 
Breviary each day! The Pontifical contains all forms 
of blessings, consecrations, ordinations of the clergy, the 
functions belonging to their particular powers as Bishops, 
the reception of nuns, and all these functions and powers 
and authorities of Bishops superior to the clergy below 
them. The Missal has all the Masses said from one end of 
the year to the other, the feasts, the prayers at Mass and all 

i Hist, of the Mass. O'Brien, p. 2&. 2 Petit Rational, par Perin, p. 3 



BED AND BLACK LETTEES. 105 

the duties required to be performed at the altar, they are 
found in that large book on the altar called the Missal. 

The Ritual has all the forms for the administerng of the 
Sacraments, the different prayers for blessing tilings, the 
prayers said at the giving of the different Sacraments when 
administered by the Priest, and all relating to the priest- 
hood. The Ceremonial of Bishops contains all the grand 
ceremonies used before the Bishops in the great churches. 
The Martyrology contains the acts of the martyrs, and in a 
short way gives their lives and Mow they died for their faith. 
The Breviary contains the prayers called the Divine Office, 
the universal prayer of the Church said by all her ministers, 
from the Pope down to the newly ordained sub-deacon. 
The Divine Offices are the same throughout the world, but 
they may be arranged according to the diocese or the 
country. Here in the United States we follow the arrange- 
ment of the diocese of Baltimore, the first formed in this 
country. Each religious order or congregation has its own 
regulations for that matter. This is with regard to the 
days of celebrating some minor feasts, and not a difference 
with regard to the Breviary. These books you will see are 
printed in black and red. The black is what is meant to be 
said, the red gives us the rules to direct us what to do ; they 
are not therefore a part of the services, but rather the 
directions how the services or rites are to be performed. 
From the Latin for red comes the word rubric — the laws 
guiding the services, for these laws and directions are printed 
in red. 

We do not know the authors of these six books, or of any 
of them. They are the same now as in the most ancient 
times, and we conclude that they come substantially from 
the time of the Apostles. In the western part of the Church 
all these books are in Latin, in the other branches they are 
according to the languages given before, relating to the 
different rites practised in these countries. 



CHAPTER Vn. 

REASONS RELATING TO THE REDEMPTION. 

You have heard so many times of the redemption of the 
human race, and of our deliverance from hell by the death 
of our Lord, "as Christ also hath loved us and hath deliv- 
ered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an 
odor of sweetness. " 1 Our Saviour then redeemed us, and for 
that reason he is called the Saviour — that is, one who saves 
or redeems another. Thus his name is Jesus — that is, a 
Hebrew word meaning Saviour. 

In order to understand the work, the great work, which 
the Son of God did when he died for us, let us see from what 
he delivered us from — everlasting death in hell ; and to what 
he has raised us to — everlasting joys in heaven. 

And first, Adam, by his sin, had brought upon the human 
race the anger of God — he had drawn upon us the wrath 
of the Almighty; for sin goes in so deep, so far, that no man 
while in that sin can go to heaven, no matter how he live, 
should he die in mortal sin. Thus human nature was grevious- 
ly injured by that sin of Adam in the garden. In that sin 
there was the wrath of God, such that heaven was shut 
against mankind ; no one could go into His presence, no one 
could see God face to face. 

And now you will notice that Adam was the father of the 
human race according to the flesh, from him came all born 
into this world ; and, as their father, as their representative, 
speaking in their name, acting for them before God, he com- 
mitted sin and plunged the world into that sin. 2 ' And how was 
that sin wiped out and forgiveness gained ? Some one must 
come to pay the debt of sin. Grander, higher still, was the 
second Adam, Christ our Lord. He. was the second father 

1 Ephes., v. 2. 
3 S. Chryst. 




CARVINGS IN ST. PAUL'S. ANVERS 



FOUR GREAT GIFTS. 107 

of the human race, to take the place of the other who had 
sinned; 1 He was the father who would not sin, and the hu- 
man race, dragged down into captivity by our first father, 
Adam, was to be raised up by our second father, Jesus 
Christ, to sanctifying grace and to heaven, which we had lost 
at first. 

This was the work God was to do. He was to repair the 
evil done by Adam. And let us understand that work. When 
God created Adam he gave him the four great gifts — of im- 
mortality, infused knowledge, freedom from suffering and 
death, and the right to go to heaven if he passed a certain 
time of trial upon this earth in the Garden of Paradise. Thus 
Adam, the father of the human race and their representative, 
would have transmitted all these four gifts to his children 
and to us, if he had remained faithful to God's command and 
had not eaten the forbidden fruit. And, if he had eaten this 
apple, God told him that he, with his posterity, would be lost 
to heaven. Such were the conditions placed before our first 
parents in the garden. There were these two creatures, 
the last made by God, but the most wonderful of all 
the beings created, uniting in themselves the per- 
fections of all the other creatures. The name Adam in 
Hebrew signifies, of the earth, to tell our common father of 
his origin, and that he came from the earth by the power of 
God. We see his union with the immaculate Eve, in Hebrew 
the mother of all the living. We see these two, created in 
innocence and in grace, clothed with modesty, placed at the 
boundaries of the spiritual and material worlds, brought 
forth by the power of their great Creator to take 
the place of the fallen angels and sing forever the 
praises of their God. Such was the condition of the two, the 
father and mother of the human race. They would have 
passed a certain time upon the earth in happiness, and then, 
as a reward for their faithfulness, they would have been 
taken up into heaven without having to pass through the 
dark valley of death. All their children would have the 
same gifts and blessings, for Adam and Eve were made to 
leave to their children all these great free gifts of the goodness 
of God. But they sinned and plunged themselves with all 

1. Schouppe, Theo. Dogmat. De Pecat, Orig. 



108 CHRIST THE MEDIATOR. 

their descendants into sin, lost their right to heaven, for no 
one can enter that holy place without being free from sin, 
for sin is an injury against God, and that injury must be 
repaid to satisfy God's justice. 

Who was to pay that debt, to wipe out that great injustice 
against God? God was offended, man was the offender, and 
some one must reconcile them. Who was to be the media- 
tor between God and man ? Certain qualities were required 
in the mediator. It was necessary that he be a Mend of 
both, that he be a friend to the party offended, and a friend 
to the party who gave the offence. 1 And now. there was the 
human race, which had offended God by Adam, their repre- 
sentative and their father, and there was God in heaven who 
had been offended by that sin, and therefore it was necessary 
that the one who was to be a mediator should be a friend to 
both, to reconcile the offended and the offender. Thus it 
was that our Lord Jesus -Christ, the Second Person of the 
Holy Trinity, came down from heaven and united himself to 
that human nature, took upon himself, espoused forever that 
nature of Adam that had sinned: and being the Second 
Person of the Holy Trinity, he was God; and being born of 
Mary, he was man. Thus the mediator between God and 
man was of the nature both of God and man. He was then 
perfect God and perfect man — perfect God, for in taking 
upon himself human nature, he lost nothing of his Godhead, 
and in taking human nature he was perfect man — for he was 
born of Mary like any member of the human race. 

And now how were these united? Let us understand well 
and clearly the mystery of the Incarnation. If you say that 
he united himself to man in such a way that his Divinity took 
the place and fulfilled the duties of the soul in the body, you 
have only a shell inhabited by the Lord and you have not 
perfect man, but only a body without a soul. That would be 
an error of many modern writers. 

If you say that the spirit of God dwelt within the body 
born of Mary, you would have a great prophet of God, and a 
creature not different from the prophets of old ; but he 
would not be God, he would only come in the spirit of God, 
and that was the error of the Cerinthians of the first century. 

1 Schouppe, Theo. Dogmat. De Muu. Redeinptoris. 



GOD AND MAN UNITED. 109 

If you say that he had no body born of Mary, but that his 
body was formed of thin atmosphere like a vision, you fall 
into the errors of the Phantasiasts and Docetists of the early 
ages. 

If you say that he was only a man born of Mary and of 
Joseph, you fall into the errors of the Ebonites and the Pro- 
tenites. 

If jou say that his two natures, the nature of God and the 
nature of man, were combined in him so as to make two per- 
sons, different one from the other, you are wrong, you are 
following the false teachings of the Nestorians. 

If you say that his whole human will was absorbed into 
the Godhead, you fall into the error of the Monothelites. 

If you say that he had only nature, you fall into the errors 
of the Eutychians. 

Now the true doctrine is this : That there was a human 
nature void without a human person, but, in place of his hu- 
man person, there was placed the Second Person of the Holy 
Trinity, and there was God and man united in the Person, 
and there was in him two natures, the one of God and the 
other of man, but there was in him only one person, the Per- 
son of the Holy Trinity. And, as all the action of a man and 
all things that he does are referred to him, uniting both 
the body and soul, so all the works on God and everything 
that he did were referred to his Person. And the one who is 
responsible for all these things is the Second Person of the 
Holy Trinity; and, therefore, the acts of his soul, and the 
actions of his body, and the actions of his mind, and his suf- 
ferings, and his privations, and all things that he did, are the 
actions, and the works, and the operations, not of a human 
being, but of the Second Person of the Trinity. Therefore, 
these actions are the actions of God. 

Now God cannot suffer; God is infinitely happy. The 
very essence of God is happiness, and ; therefore, the Divin- 
ity of God in Christ could not suffer ; but man could suffer, 
and man can die, and the human nature in Christ died, and 
death was the separation of his body from his soul — for 
that is death among us — and therefore, all his suffer- 
ings, all his privations, all that he went through, and 
all his miseries and his trials were the sufferings, not 



110 A WONDERFUL WOMAN. 

of God but of man — of the human nature of Christ. 
And as all the actions and the operations of the human na- 
ture belong and were referred to the person, and as the per- 
son was the Second Person of the Trinity, therefore his suf- 
ferings were the sufferings of a God — infinite in merit, infinite 
in every respect. 

And as the sin of Adam was an offence given to an Infinite 
God, in that respect it was infinite ; but, as the merits of 
Christ were the sufferings and merits of an Infinite Person, 
they, therefore, outweighed the sin of Adam, and thus the 
price was of an infinite value, capable, worthy of paying the 
debt of sin committed by Adam in the garden of Eden. 
And thus the sin of the first Adam, the father of the human 
race according to the flesh, was wiped out forever by the 
sufferings and death of the second Adam Jesus Christ, the 
father of the human race according to the spirit. 

Here we have God and man. God coming forth from the 
First Person of the Holy Trinity, by generation from his 
Father in Heaven in eternity, man coming forth from Mary, 
by his generation from the daughter of David in this world. 
Thus going back, taking his Divinity you trace it to his 
Father in Heaven. Thus going back, taking his humanity 
you trace it to his mother on earth. Let us see then, who 
was his mother. She was Mary, daughter of the tribe of 
Juda, of the royal house of David, of the Israelites, of that 
nation chosen by God, to be his people; of David, of the 
royal house of Juda, who was chosen by God to rule his 
people. And as her ancestors of the house of Juda married 
into the house of Levi, thus she was descended from the 
tribe of Juda and from the tribe of Levi; and as the tribe 
of Juda was the princely tribe, and as the tribe of Levi 
was the priestly tribe, she was therefore, by birth, a prin- 
cess and a priestess, because the Son born of her by 
the operation of the Holy Ghost, was to be the " Prince of 
the House of David" and a "Priest forever according to the 
order of Melchisedech." 1 

Begotten of the virgin Father in Heaven, he was begotten 
of a virgin mother upon earth, and a virgin begotten thus 
to show how he loved virginity. For Mary, although mar- 

1- Psa'mCIX, 4. 



WHY SHE IS GREAT. Ill 

ried to Joseph, still remained at all times a virgin. Because 
one who is a virgin is more perfect than the one who is not, 
thus Mary was a virgin, because to be his mother she must 
be perfect. As he was generated by the Father in eternity, 
so he was generated by Mary upon earth, and that body, 
that human nature born of her was to be perfect, without a 
stain, without a spot to mar its beauty and its brightness. 
His human nature then came from Mary, for at the moment 
Mary gave her consent, saying : ' ' Be it done to me accord- 
ing to thy word, 1 '' at that moment was formed the body of 
Christ by the operation of the Holy Ghost. And as our 
bodies before our birth are nourished by our mother's blood, 
so Christ's body before his birth was nourished by Mary's 
blood. 

Now as God is infinite perfection itself, everything in him 
must be perfect, and that body and that soul, was to be a 
part of himself, one of his two natures. That body, there- 
fore, must be perfect, without spot or stain, or wickedness, 
without a sin to mar its beauty. So the source from whence 
he took that human nature must be without spot, or stain, 
or sin ; otherwise she would throw a shadow and a stain 
upon her son. Thus Christ created his mother, sinless and 
in innocence, as in the beginning he created Adam and our 
mother, Eve, sinless and in innocence ; as in the beginnicg 
he created the angels, sinless and in innocence. And she 
rejoiced in her Saviour, for she was created in innocence, by 
the fore- knowledge and fore-seeing of the merits ot her Son. 
And that is reasonable. For as a stain upon our mothers, 
throws a stain upon ourselves, so a stain upon Mary, would 
throw a stain upon her Son. She was then created without 
spot or stain, and that is what we call the Immaculate Con 
ception, in the words of the Holy Ghost, ' ' Thou art all 
fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee. 2 " 

Need I tell you of the great things, said of that wonder- 
ful woman, by the fathers of the Church, giving the belief 
of Christians following the Apostles, found in the works of 
the great men of that time, for St. John the Evangelist lived 
as bishop of Ephesus till the beginning of the second centu- 

1 Luke I, 38. ~~ ~~ — 

2 Cant of Cant, IV., 7. 



112 VOICES OF EARLY AGES. 

ry, where for the. last twelve years of her life, after our 
Lord's ascension, Mary lived in the house of the beloved dis 
ciple, while the author of these words, who preached the 
sermons given below, lived in the beginning of the fourth 
century. About two hundred years elapsed between them 
and the Apostles. Therefore they give the belief of the 
Christians living soon after the preaching of the followers of 
our Lord. We could fill this book from the writers of that 
age, in praises of the Virgin Mother, but we will give the 
words of only three writers of that apostolic time. St. 
Ephanius, 1 born in the year 310, says : ' ' What shall I say, 
or what shall I preach of that beautiful and Holy Virgin? 
God alone excepted, she excells all others. In her nature 
more beautiful than the Cherubims and Seraphims and all 
the angelic host, no earthly tongue can sing her heavenly 
praises, not even the tongues of angels. O, Holy Virgin, 
pure dove and celestial spouse. Mary thou art heaven, the 
temple and the throne of divinity ; thou hast Christ transen- 
dent in heaven, as thy son on earth thou a bright cloud 
in heaven, brought Christ to illuminate the world. Thou gate 
of heaven, whom the Prophet plainly and openly speaks in 
course of his prayer. " My sister, my sponse, is a garden en- 
closed, a fountain sealed up." That Virgin is an immaculate 
lilly, who brought forth the more perfect rose, Christ. O, 
holy Mother of God. O, Immaculate Dove ! In thee the 
Word became incarnate. O, most holy Virgin, whose sanctity 
stupefies the angels ! Wonderful is the miracle in heaven ! 
a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet ; won- 
derful is the miracle in heaven ! the bosom of a virgin holds 
the Son of God. Wonderful is the miracle in heaven ! the 
God of the angels becomes the Child of the Virgin. The 
angels condemn Eve ; now they cover Mary with glory, for 
she raised up fallen Eve and she sends Adam, fallen from 
Paradise, into heaven. The grace of the holy Virgin is iin- 

1 S. Ephanius in Orat. de Laud. S. Mariae Deipar. 
St. Ephanius was converted from Judaism and soon after retired to a 
monastery in Egypt. Some time after he founded a monastery in Palestine. 
He became celeurated for his works against the Arians, who denied the Divi- 
nity of our Lord, and in the year 367 wa3 made Bishop of Salamis. Traveling 
in Asia, at Antioc, he converted the Patriarch Vitalis, from the errors of the 
Apollinarians. After a life of trials and sufferings, he died at sea, on a jour- 
ney to his episcopal city in Cyprus in 402 or 403. 



SEKMONS OF SAINTS. 113 

mense. Hence Gabriel first salutes the Virgin saying " Hail 
full of grace, 3 Hail, most holy Mother Immaculate who brought 
forth Christ, who was before thee." 

Again another 2 born in 340 says, "What, and ho,v great 
was to be the blessed and ever glorious Virgin when declared 
by the angel from God, ' Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with 
thee, blessed art thou among women,' 3 truly so because, al- 
though we believe that grace was in the holy Fathers and 
Prophets, nevertheless not so full, but in Mary the plentitude 
of the whole grace that was in Christ, although hi another 
manner. Of her, Solomon in his song says in her praise, 
" Thou art all fan, O, my love, and there is not a spot in thee. 
Come, my love, come from Libanus ' 4 for she was whole 
with many virtues, whiter than snow by the gifts of the 
Holy Spirit, all purity, all simplicity, all grace and 
truth, all mercy and justice that looked down from Heaven, 
and therefore immaculate because she was corrupt in nothing." 

While another, 5 in the year 380, says : " Hail Mary, full of 
grace, holier than the Saints, and higher than the heavens, and 
more glorious than the Seraphim and venerable above all 
creatures ! Hail most sweet, reasonable paradise of the Lord ! 

1: Cant of Cant, IV., 12. 

2. St. Jerome in Serin. De Assumpt. B. M. Vergin. 

St. Jerome was born on the confines of Ponnonia and Dalmatia, his father 
being a wealthy christian named Eusebius, In 363 Jerome was sent to Rome 
to study Greek, Latin, Literature, and Eloquence. He visited Gaul, the 
coast of England and other parts of Europe, till at length he entered a mon- 
astery under the direction of Valerianus, the Bishop of Aquileia, where he 
devoted himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures. He afterward went to 
Stridon to reclaim one of his sisters, from whence he started on foot through 
Thrace, Asia Minor, and Syria, stopping at Antioc to listen to a course of 
lectures on the Bible. He then retired into the deserts of Calchis to devote 
himself to the study of Hebrew, where he spent four years in study, solici- 
tude and prayer. For many years he studied the languages of the Bible, and 
is celebrated for his commentaries on the Scripures. He translated the whole 
Bible into Latin, which became so common in his day and ever since as to be 
called the Vulgate, the authorized version of the Church. He, under the di- 
rection of Pope Demasus. arranged the Breviary, founded many monasteries 
and convents, wrote to Pope Demasus about the Bishop of Antioc, as three 
claimed the See, asking the Pope to settle the dispute. After a life of 
great labors for the Church, he died in 418. He always remained a rumple 
priest. 

3. Luke 1, 28. 

4. Cant of Cant, IV 7-8. 

5. Horn. £n. Praesent Deiparae. 

St. Germ anus was born in Central Gaul, now France. He was of a 
senatorial family and distinguished for his eloquence. He was made Bishop 
of Anxerre in 418. He gave all his goods to the poor, and twice visited Eng- 
land at the request of Pope Celestin I. He built many monasteries and 
encouraged St. Patrick to undertake the conversion of Ireland. His life 
was written thirt? years after his death by the priest Constantius. 



114 HER MOTHERHOOD. 

Hail most holy building, immaculate, most pure paradise oi 
the eternal God, with hospitality receiving all, in which is the 
throne of thy spiritual spouse, the Holy Spirit, in 
whom the Word espoused the human race, when gone astray, 
that those, who by free will had sinned, might be reconciled 
to the Father. Hail, throne of God ! divine treasure, house 
of glory, intercessor of the whole earth, showing forth the 
glory of heaven and of God. 0, most pure, worthy of all 
j)raise ! In thy maternal authority thou directest thy most 
acceptable prayer to the Lord, to God, and to thy Son, gen- 
erated of thee without a father. Thou directest the vessels 
of the ecclesiastical order, and leadest them to the tranquil 
harbor. Thou who dost show priests justice. Thou immacu- 
late, of sincere faith, thou dost extend thy guiding hand 
to the whole world that they may all celebrate thy festivals 
like this we keep, and to Christ Jesus, king of the universe, to 
whom be glory and power, likewise to the holy principle of 
lif e the Father and to the co-eternal, consubstantial and reign- 
ing with them the Holy Spirit, now and forever in eternity, 
amen." 

From the mouths of these ancient saints and writers, we learn 
that such was the mother of God, that great and wonderful 
woman, that second Eve, who is our mother. As a woman, 
Mary, aided Moses in establishing his law, so a woman, 
Mary, took part in the establishing of that second law, 
grander than the law of Moses, the law of the Gospel. 1 
As our father, Adam, and a tree and a woman were the causes 
of our first fall in the garden of paradise, so our second 
father, Christ, and a woman and the tree of the cross were 
the causes of our redemption. 2 

Such was the great woman Mary and the place she took in the 
redemption of the human race, and God kept her from sin, 
not by taking away her free will, but by enlightening her mind 
with what was true, and strengthing her will froni all tempta- 
tions. Like the angels in heaven she was perfect ; not by any 
of her own merits, but because she was to be the source from 
whence on earth the human nature of Christ should be gen- 
erated, as the Father in heaven is the source from whence His 
divine nature is generated ; and what was born of her was not 



1. Exod. XV, £0; Numb. XII. 5. 

2. S. Chryst. 



ADORATION OF CREATURE IDOLATERY. 115 

precisely a body and a soul alone, but with that body and 
with that soul, upholding his human nature, the foundation 
upon which it rests, as it were, was the Second Person of the 
Holy Trinity, and therefore the Second Person of the Holy 
Trinity was born of her. She was, therefore, a mother, not 
only of the body and of the soul, born of her, but of the 
whole Christ as our mother is the mother of the whole being 
born of her, although the soul was not made of her, but cre- 
ated directly by God himself. 

Thus our mother is the mother of our entire being, and 
thus Mary was mother of the entire Being born of her ; but 
the Being born of her was the Son of God, and therefore she 
is the mother of God, and being the mother of God, she is 
higher, nobler, grander in dignity than any other creature that 
was made, but not by nature, for the angels and all the celes- 
tial spirits made by God in heaven are superior to us in the 
rank of creation and in knowledge ; but no angel, no spirit in 
heaven is the mother of God — only Mary was created for that 
dignity. She is, therefore, not by nature, but by dignity, far above 
all the creatures that God made, and that dignity is founded 
upon her Maternity, because she is mother of God ; but she 
is nothing, compared with God, and no one can adore her, 
none can worship her, for she is a creature, and to adore a crea- 
tine is idolatry, and idolatry is the giving to a creature the 
worshij) that belongs to God alone. Therefore, idolatry is 
the greatest sin. Therefore, to adore Mary would be a great 
sin against God. Adoration, then, belongs only to the 
Divinity. Therefore we can adore only the Father, the 
Son and the Holy Ghost. 

Mary is a creature made by God; and as the distance be- 
teen God and the most perfect creature He could make is so 
great that no one can understand or measure the distance be- 
tween them — for God's perfection, is so great, so far above 
the perfection of any creature, that no created mind can 
measure it — as no creature can understand the God-head, and 
therefore compare his greatness with the perfections of that 
creature. No being, therefore, can take the place of God. 
No creature, therefore, can be adored. If Mary then, be 
great, all her greatness vanishes before the greatness of Him 
who was born of her. All her gifts, all her dignity, all her 
excellencies come from her Son ; and if she be full of grace, 



116 HOW SHE HELPS US. 

in the words of the Archangel, that grace comes from Christ, 
for he is the source from whence come forth all graces and 
blessings that enlightened angels and men. He is the 
mediator between God and man. No one can go to heaven 
but through him ; but as when we want to get some favor 
from a great person, we do not go directly to him but to some 
one of influence who is well known to him, and whom he 
respects, whom he cannot refuse, and we ask that one to in- 
tercede for us. Thus, sometimes, when we want something 
from God, and we consider God so great and ourselves so 
little and imperfect, and we know the tenderness and the 
sympathy of a woman's heart, and we know the influence of 
a mother over her son, and we go to Mary and ask her to use 
her influence with her Son as she has already done, when she 
told Him they had no wine at Cana, and He changed the 
water into wine at her request. As Moses prayed for the 
sins of Israel in the desert, 1 and God at the prayer of the just 
and holy Moses did not destroy the people, as the prophets 
prayed for the kings of Israel 2 and God heard then prayers, 
so God hears Mary's requests and grants her what 
she asks. She is now dead ; but those who are dead do not 
rest so as not to hear us, as many people suppose, for the 
very nature of a spirit is to be active and in motion. Thus 
our souls are never at rest, but ever exercise the power they 
have of movement and of action. Thus souls separate in heaven 
are always in action and in motion. Thus souls in heaven see 
God face to face ; and as everything that takes place here 
upon earth is seen by God, and as those spirits see him they 
see in God what takes place here upon the earth ; they see 
in God then our prayers, our sufferings, our needs, and thus we 
know that Mary sees us when we pray, and hears us, and 
asks God to grant the favors that we ask of her. 

We are not obliged to go to her ; we can go directly to 
God, and thus many of us do. Thus it is with Mary and the 
saints. "We pray to them only as the servants of God, or we 
see in their holiness God's greatness in them ; and if they are 
great, it is the greatness of God within them, for God made 
them what they are. We see, therefore, within them God him 

1. Exod.XXX,ll. 

3. SdKinffs, XIL 16. 



HOW CHRIST SATISFIED. 117 

self, for God lived in them and moved in them, for they were 
the temples of the Holy Ghost. 

Thus is Mary, the Virgin-, the wife, the mother, and the 
widow. By the providence of God she is all these, for these 
are the four states of womanhood, and she was all these to 
be an example for all women ; but of her Son we speak — the 
Lord Jesus Christ, the human and the Divine born of her, 
born into this world to pay the debt due to God for man's 
sins, for he it was who paid the debt of the redemption and 
restored us -to what we lost in our first father, Adam, and 
that work of the redemption contained three things, — the 
payment of the debt, the preaching of the Gospel and the 
making of the laws for the guidence of all people. 

The payment of the debt he fulfilled himself; the work 
of preaching the Gospel he gave to his apostles ; the power 
of making the laws he confided to his church. He paid the 
debt due to God for man's sin, for his sufferings were the 
sufferings of God, and because all the acts of God are infinite, 
therefore his sufferings were infinite and of an infinite price ; 
and being of an infinite value, they wiped the infinite malice 
of the sins committed by all mankind, that is he restored the 
lost friendship of God and brought new favors -on us; and 
thus the redemption was a work of satisfaction for sins, and 
a work of merit for us ; and satisfaction is the full payment of 
a debt, and merit means the obtainimg of new rewards. 

In other words, satisfaction means the worthy compensa- 
tion to the outraged in such a way that the anger and wrath 
of the one offended ceases. God's honor was offended by man's 
sin, and His wrath was wiped out by the offerings made to 
Him by the Son of God. The merit he gained for us consisted 
in the offering he gave to God, such, that it was worthy of mov 
ing him to reward us with the supernatural gift. This was the 
reward of his sufferings, — the sufferings of a God, and of a 
supernatural and eternal Being. Thus the Redemption was 
really and truly of an infinite value, an infinite price, not like 
the Pelagians and Socinians said, for these taught that Christ 
redeemed us, not by paying the debt of our sins, but by his 
resisting the temptations of the evil one in the desert, or by 
being obedient to his Father ; but the Catholic truth teaches 
that Christ redeemed us from sin 1 by wiping it completely 

1. Counsel of Florence, Pro, Ja,cobitis. Concil, of Constantin 



118 TAKING OUR PLACE. 

out, pleasing God in our place, and restoring us to heaven 
lost in Adam. That is the true and real redemption 
— the redemption of our Lord was for all men. The Catholic 
faith teaches us that Christ gave himself as a redemption, not 
only for the elect, but also for all others who would believe in 
him ; and not only that, but it is next to an article of faith 
that Christ died for all men, including the infidels. 

It is an article of faith also that the satisfaction of Christ 
was such that the penalty of all pain and all guilt was wiped out, 
not only for our good and for our salvation, but that he took 
our place himself , and in our place paid the debt due to God for 
our sins. Thus his satisfaction was worthy, plentiful, perfect, 
superabundant and infinite. Thus he satisfied for sin, not by 
strict justice, as when an equal has been returned for an 
equal taken away, or an injury received like in strict justice, 
but he satisfied the justice of God in a wider sense. This 
doctrine, so clear, agrees with the writings of the doctors of 
the church. For the most holy Koman Church, founded by 
the words of our Lord and Savior, firmly beleives and pro- 
fesses and teaches, that no one born can be delivered from the 
power of the devil, unless through the merits of the Mediator 
of men, Jesus Christ, who, conceived without sin, born and 
died that he might conquer the enemy of the human race by 
his death, take away our sins, and by that, opening heaven, 
closed by the sin of out' first parents. 1 Thus, from the various 
parts of the Scripture, 2 from the writings of the fathers, 3 
from the universal traditions of the church,* we know that 
Christ redemed us, delivered us from sin and made us again 
partakers of the friendship of God and of everlasting life. 

Not only that, but his redemption belongs to all men ; or. in 
other words, he died for all men. That he died for all the 
faithful is an article of faith ; that he died for all grown-up 
infidels is the common belief of people and therefore certain. 
Thus Christ took our place before God and satisfied his of- 
fended Majesty in our place, giving a return superabundant, 
complete and infinite, 5 for the satisfaction was by one of the 

1. Counsil of Florence, pro JacobJtes. 

2. Math. I, 21; Rom. V, 10; Gal. IV, 45. 

3. Petav. De Incarnat, L. XII, c. 6. 

4. Counsil of Constantino. 

5 Counsel of Trent Sess. V, Can. II, and Counsil of Trent Seas. VI, Cant 
XXVI. 



:fiil|| 




fiMki\^\;^/J\ ^^^:i ^m^^^rM^M d 



CHRIST SATISFYING GOD. 119 

race which had offended, for Christ was of the race of Adam, 
to the one offended, to God, who was angry, from his own suf- 
ferings and death, infinite like the sin, for all the actions of 
Christ were of an infinite value ; for they were the actions of 
an infinite Person, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. 1 
They could not be rejected, for how could the Father refuse 
what He had promised? And could He reject the offerings 
of His Son ! Lest this might not be clear let us go into the 
matter a little deeper. Adam was the person who had offended 
the Lord in heaven. For that sin in the garden — the root 
and source of all sin — was committed by the head of the 
human race, Adam, the head according to the flesh. Christ 
was the head according to the spirit, the head to repair the 
evil done by Adam. Christ and Adam, then, were the heads 
of the human race, our representatives before the court of 
heaven ; and as the head and members make one person, thus 
as the sin of Adam extended to the entire race, thus the satis- 
faction of Christ extended to the entire race, to all its 
members. 1 

Christ satisfied Persons different from himself, the Father 
and the Holy Ghost ; Persons different from Christ who was 
the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. He freely satisfied, 
for he was free to suffer or not to suffer. " He was offered up 
because he wished." 2 He gave his own that is his life, his 
members to be pierced, his body to be scourged, his life to be 
taken away. And what is nearer and more our own than our 
lives and members % It was not necessary for Christ to do 
thus, for he did not suffer for his own sins. He gave an 
equal return for the honor and respect and reverence due to 
God, for sin is infinite because it is an injury done to an infi- 
nite God. But the reparation, the satisfaction returned to 
God for that sin was infinite, for it was the prayers, offerings, 
and suffering and death of an infinite Person, Jesus Christ, 
the Second Person of the Trinity; therefore his satisfaction 
was equal to the sin and injury done to God. That offering 
of Christ cauld not have been rejected by God. For, although 
he could have rejected the whole human race after its sin in 
Adam, as he rejected the fallen angels, nevertheless after he 
chose to make Christ the head of the human race, that he 

1. St. Thomas, 3 p. 2, XLVIII. Art. 2. 

2. Isaiah, LIII, 7. 



120 CHRrST'S JUSTIFICATION OUR SALVATION. 

might offer a worthy recompense for sin, God could^not re- 
ject Christ's offering. Not only was the satisfaction of Christ 
equal to the sin of Adam, but it was more and greater, for 
Adam's sin was infinite only in a certain respect, as being an 
offence against an infinite God, while Christ's merits and 
satisfactions were infinite in every respect because they were 
the works of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. But 
everything in the Trinity is infinite in every respect, there- 
fore Christ's satisfaction was infinite in every respect, be- 
cause they were the works of the Second Person of the 
Trinity, and thus greater, higher, and far above the sin of Adam. 

Thus the meritorious passion of Christ is the cause of our 
justification. And by that passion he merited for himself 
the glory of his body, the exaltation of His name, the adora- 
tion and worship of the nations ; for us he merited justifica- 
tion, eternal life, the gift of grace, 1 and the sonship of God by 
adoption. 

But he did not deliver us from the evils of temptation, 
of death, of sickness, of suffering, or return to us the perfect 
and easy control which Adam and Eve had before their fall, over 
the lower powers of our soul, or deliver us from all the evils which 
fell on the human race from the sin of Adam, but only sanc- 
tifying grace, which gives the right to enter heaven. As we 
gain a greater merit by suffering patiently, and as we are not 
greater than Him who suffered so much, so we must suffer 
here below. These graces are applied to our souls by our 
merits, by the sacraments, and especially by the sacrifice of 
the Mass. which is a continuation of the sacrifice of the cross. 
For as Adam was our representative in the garden of Para- 
dise* thus Christ was our representative on the cross. And as 
no one will go to hell by Acfam's sin alone, for we go to hell 
for our own sins, committed by our own free will, thus 
no one can go to heaven except the merits of Christ be 
applied to his soul by the sacraments, and especially by the 
Mass. And to say that Christ died for us all and that nothing 
more is required, is to put the saint and the murderer, the 
good and the bad all on the same level, all going to heaven. 
no matter what they do in this world. Our salvation then de- 
pends on our own actions, the loss or the salvation of each 

1. St. Thomas, p. 4, 19, Art. ITI and IV ; and St. Thomas, 4S-49. 
Suarez 7. XVf ; Desp. XXX 'X, 42 



THE MASS. 121 

one depends on their sins or on their good works ; by these 
good works gaining the merits and graces of Christ ready to 
to be showered down upon us when we merit them. By His 
death he gained all these, and these are to be given us when 
we show ourselves worthy by our good lives. His death was 
for the human race, and the human race is an idea which can- 
not be found but in the mind, but the individuals of the race 
are found and the merits of Christ are applied to each one by 
the sacraments, which are like so many channels of grace. But 
of all these the great way of pouring grace into our souls is 
the Mass, the continuation of the sufferings and death of 
Christ. 1 

But of that Mass, we will speak in the following pages of 
that continuation of the sacrifice of the cross, of that greatest 
and most sublime act of man. We will try and penetrate the 
meaning of these ceremonies, rites, and figures, those move- 
ments, actions, bows, geneflections, modulations of the voice, 
those quaint ways coming down from the times of the Apos- 
tles, telling us of the dignity of the sacrifice, of the greatness 
of the Victim offered on the altar, of the reverence, love, 
and adoration in our hearts for the Son of God there present. 

Thus he died for us sinners and for our salvation, he laid 
up in heaven that infinite treasure of grace and mercy bought 
by his Life-blood ; but in order to keep before the eyes of all 
generations that he died, to tell all men of the great work of 
the redemption, to prevent the world from forgetting him and 
Calvary's cross, the sacrifice of Calvary and of the cross is 
continued on the altar, the words of the Bedeemer at the last 
supper: " Do this in commemoration of me ", are carried out. 
and the graces of the redemption are applied to the souls of 
those assisting there. Such then is the Mass, the continua- 
tion of the work of the redemption. The keeping of that 
work before the minds of all ages that he died. The apply- 
ing of that redemption to the Christian souls. 

Such then is the Mass ; it is the applying of these merits 
of Christ to our souls — the showering down of these graces 
into our hearts and the continuation of the sacrifice of Cal- 
vary. A sacrifice is the great act of man offered to the Di- 
vinity ; here in the Mass we have the Victim only worthy of 

1. St. Thomas p. 3, 48-49. 

Suarez t, XVI ; Desp. 39, Sec. 3. 



12$ THE MASS AND CALVAEY. 

the Diety, the sacrifice of the Son of God, Yictim immo- 
lated to the God-head, the Offering only worthy of the Deity 
the Second Person of the Trinity is present there, and as the 
sublime tragedy of Calvary is continued, there continued in 
remembrance of Him, the Victim and the Sacrificer, as all is 
offered to the God-head, the face of the celebrant is turned 
from the people and toward God. The people are bowed 
down in prayer ; it is not necessary that they understand the 
words, for they are said not for them to hear but for the ear 
of God. All may be in silence, still it is a sacrifice offered 
to the Lord ; not one besides the celebrant may understand 
the«se rites and ceremonies, still they are for the eye of God 
and not of man, and God accepts them from the hands of the 
priest, for how can he reject the offering of His only begot- 
ten Son ? Thus understand well, reader, the Eedemption and 
the Mass. On Calvary he redeemed us, in the Mass that re- 
demption is applied to our souls. On Calvary he paid the 
price, in the Mass that price i s dealt out to those assisting 
there. That generation saw the bloody sacrifice of the Cross, 
all generations see the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass. 

Christ then being present, the sacrifice of Calvary being 
continued, the Son of God dying in a mystic manner, redemp- 
tion given to the members of the human race, all these great 
things taking place, something more than usual must be seen 
around the altar. The celebrant is clothed in grand and gor- 
geous vestments, ceremonies striking and majestic teach us 
truth, while every sense is lifted up to the grandeurs of the 
mysteries taking place. But as the vestments are the first 
which strike your eye, we will speak of the histories and 
of the mystic meanings of the vestments in the following 
chapter. - " ^ 



CHAPTER VIII. 

REASONS FOR HAVING VESTMENTS. 

TOU have seen these clothes and these vestments worn 
by the priest in the sanctuary and at the altar ; you 
have remarked that their garments are like nothing used 
now, so different from the clothes worn at the present day, 
and perhaps you have asked what is their object. 

Of old, when God led His people out of Egypt, and out 
of the house of bondage ; when left to themselves, when 
their leader walked with God for forty days, when having 
nothing but the law and the remembrance of the wonders in 
which by a strong hand God delivered them from the power 
of Pharaoh, having no ceremonies to keep their religion 
fresh in their minds, they fell into idolatry and adored a 
golden calf. 1 Then God told Moses, and he made vestments 
for Aaron and his sons, and established these rites grand 
and venerable of the ancient tabernacle, that the people by 
seeing religious truths in quaint vestments and mystic rites 
and figures and forms, might be kept in the true faith of Is- 
rael and from idolatry. 2 

All this is written deep in our nature. For if we were 
only spirit, our religion would be spiritual, but we are spirit 
and body — spiritual in our soul, corporal in our bodv, and 
therefore our religion must be both spiritual and corporal ; 
thus the truths of religion which are spiritual are hidden in 
these majestic rites and grand vestments which are cor- 
poral; and as the body without the soul is dead, so these 
vestments^ and these rites must be filled with truth, then- 
soul, for God is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit 
aiid in truth ; therefore, these rites and vestments are filled 
with spirit and with life. We are moved by what we per- 
ceive by the senses, for the five senses are the windows of the 



*E xod. xxxii. 4. - St. Thomas 1, 2, 9 c. a. ifi. ' St. Thomas, 1, 2, 103, a. 4. 



124 VESTMENTS OE THE TABEKNACLE. 

soul. Thus these vestments act upon us and raise up our 
minds to a knowledge of religious truths. 

As the people are clothed according to their state of life, 
as the judges wear their gowns, as the princes, kings, and 
emperors are clothed in robes of royalty to tell the people of 
their dignity, thus the Church vests her ministers with robes 
and vestments to teach all of the power and virtue of those 
who minister at her altars. 1 

The vestments must not be used in every-day life; 2 nor 
can we enter the sanctuary in our every-day clothes; to tell 
that the priest in entering the sanctuary must put off the 
old man with all his acts and "put on the new man who ac- 
cording to God is created in justice and holiness of truth 
created in justice according to God." 1 The wearing of vest- 
ments comes to us from the Old Law, for God ordered Moses 
to consecrate Aaron and his sons, and to clothe them in holy 
vestments, in garments of glory and of beauty, that, w r ashed 
and purified as the Law required, they might fulfil the high 
dignity of priests of the Most High. 5 And Moses for forty 
days exercised them in these holy ceremonies, in the use of 
sacerdotal vestments, and the ornaments and linens made by 
Mary for the use of the services of the ancient tabernacle. 
But some come down to us from the Apostles, and these 
signifying the mysteries relating to the Incarnation. 6 

These vestments, then, covering the body, signify the 
virtues covering the soul ; and the beauties of these things 
that appear to the eye are but the signs of the beauties of the 
virtues which appear not. Let the celebrant, then, clothe his 
soul with virtues as his body is clothed with vestments. Let 
him who stands at the altar of God be careful that the virtues 
signified by these vestments be not absent, otherwise he is a 
sepulchre, whitewashed and beautified on the outside, but 
filled with rottenness within. 7 Let him not put on vestments 
to satisfy his own glory, lest he should appear more guilty 
before God. Let no one take to himself the honor, but who 
was called by God as Aaron. 8 The glory, then, of the Priest- 
hood, is not in the vestments covering the body, but is the 
virtues covering the soul. 

> Petit Rational de Perm, p. 2. 2 Pope Stephen de con. dist. 1 c. 1. 

3 Pope Stephen de con. dist. 1 de Vestam. - Ephes. iv. 24. 

& Exod. xxvii. xxxi. xl. 6 Durand. Rationale Div. 1. ui. c. 1. n. 2. 

i Matt, xxiii. 27. 6 Heb. v. 4. 



THE BISHOP VESTING. 125 

The bishop then puts off his usual garments and clothes 
himself with holy vestments, and each one has a meaning 
and brings to our mind a truth. Putting on his sandals, he 
remembers the Incarnation of the Son of God, and how he 
walked the earth with the two natures of God and of man ; 
the amice, the white cloth on his head, tells him how to 
guard his thoughts and tongue, on his breast a clean heart 
to "renew a right spirit within my bowels ;' 5i he is then 
covered with a white garment, the alb, signifying that his 
soul is white with innocence and free from sin; he binds 
up his loins like the prophet of old, 2 telling of chastity; 
the stole is placed on his neck, meaning that he carries 
the yoke of obedience; he puts on the tunic of the sub- 
deacon to tell of heavenly thoughts; the dalmatic of the 
deacon, telling of religion and of mortification; the gloves 
say he will not seek his own glory; the ring, to show he 
is wedded to the diocese, that is to the Church, as to his 
spouse; the chasuble of the priest to show that he is clothed 
with charity; the maniple on his left hand to signify that 
what sins he may fall into he will wipe out with penance; 
the pallium ° to tell that as Christ carried his cross, so he is 
the minister of Christ, who carried our miseries; the mitre on 
his head, meaning that whatever he does he does to gain the 
heavenly crown; and the pastoral staff signifies his episcopal 
authority. All these he takes from his ministers, clothed in 
gorgeous garments around him, for he represents Christ, the 
great High Priest, served by angels, signified by the clergy 
vesting their bishops. 4 

As the soldier going forth to battle puts on his armor and 
prepares his weapons, thus clothed in vestments we go forth 
to fight the battle against the old enemy of the human race. 
"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty 
to God unto the pulling down of fortifications." 5 And the 
bishops and the priests are clothed in vestments like an 
armor, as the Apostle says — " Put ye on the armor of God, 
that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the 
devil. Stand therefore having your loins girt about with 
truth, and having on the breastplate of justice. And your 
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in all 

1 Psalm L. 12. 2 Jerem. 1. 17. 3 If he be an Archbishop. 

4 Purand, Rationale Div. I. iii. c. 1. n. 3. 6 II. Cor. x. 4. 



126 VESTMENTS SIGNIFY VIKTUE. 

things take the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able 
to extiDguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. 
And take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword 
of the spirit, which is the word of God/' 1 Thus the vest- 
ments tell us of the virtues like an armor coveriug the soul 
and guarding it from the attacks of the devil. 

We have spoken of the bishop and priest putting on the 
vestments, for there are six worn in common by bishops and 
priests: the amice, alb, girdle, maniple, stole, and chasuble, 
for there are six powers exercised by them in common, to 
say Mass, to bless, to command, to preach, to baptize, and to 
forgive sins." There are nine vestments used only by the 
bishop: the sandals, veil, tunic, dalmatic, ring, gloves, 
crosier, pectoral cross, and mitre, for there are nine special 
powers belonging only to the bishop: to ordain, to confirm, 
to consecrate bishops, to consecrate churches, to degrade the 
unworthy, to call synods, to consecrate the holy oils, to rule 
a diocese, and to bless the vestments and the holy vessels 
used in the service of the altar. 3 Thus the six vestments of 
the priest signify the six powers given to him by God at 
his ordination, and which he has in common with the bishop; 
the nine vestments of the bishop tells us of the nine special 
powers given him by God at his consecration, and by which 
he is superior to the priest. 4 Clothed thus with his nine 
special vestments, the bishop being perfect in virtue, tells us 
of Christ, the perfect man, surrounded with the nine choirs 
of angels around his thro ne. Thus the bishop, having all 
perfections, signifies Jesus, who is clothed as it were with 
angelic spirits. And the six that he has in common with 
the priest and the nine that he has of his own make fifteen, 
for the bishop must be perfect, and as the Royal Prophet 
divided J the virtues into fifteen grades, thus the fifteen 
ve-tments of the bishop signify the fifteen grades of virtues 
he must have acquired before he takes that high and Godly 
office. Clothed then with virtue, they are an example for the 
people, for " Let thy priests be clothed with justice, then 
let thy saints rejoice." 6 The priests of the Old Law 
had but four vestments, while the priests of the Xew Law 
. . i 

i Ephes. ri. 11. 13-17. - Pomif. Kom. De Ord. Presbyt. 

s The Pontif. mentions seven. 4 Dnrand. Rationale Div. liii. c 1. n. 7. 

5 The Grad. Psalms. * Psalm 131. 9. 



VESTMENTS COME FEOM THE APOSTLES. 127 

have six. Aaron and the high priests of the Old Law had 
eight vestments, while our bishops have fifteen. The priests 
of the Old Testament were figures of the priests of the New; 
Aaron and the high priests of the Old Law were figures of 
our bishops, and the vestments of the ministers of the taber- 
nacle were figures of the vestments of our clergy, but we 
have more vestments than they, figures of the virtues of our 
souls, for unless our justice abound more than the Scribes 
and Pharisees and priests of old, we cannot enter the king- 
dom of Heaven. 1 

Some, little understanding Holy Writ, deny that many of 
these vestments come down to us from the Lord and from 
his Apostles. But they forget that the Gospel says: " He 
riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments, and 
having taken a towel girded himself." 8 Then after he had 
taken his garments he sat down. 3 And as the Mass is but 
a continuation of that last supper before his death, for he 
said: "Do this for a commemoration of me," 4 and the wear- 
ing of vestments was customary among the ministers of the 
temple; and our Lord warns his disciples to beware of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, "who desire to walk in long robes; 5 
and the word "long robes" is the same as stoles in the 
ancient tongues. He told them to shun these men, for they, 
wearing the vestments of the temple, fulfilling the duties of 
the Old Law laid down by Moses, had lost the spirit of these 
holy rites and vestments; for while with their lips they 
praised the Lord, their hearts were far from the God of 
Israel. 6 To these sinful and covetous Scribes and Phauisees 
he said: "You are they who justify yourselves before men, 
but God knoweth your hearts." 7 Let the ministers of the 
New Law be careful lest their hearts also become sinful and 
covetous, like the Scribes and Pharisees, lest they become 
like the sounding brass and. the tinkling cymbal, 8 let them 
know the meaning of the grand mystic rites and vestments 
of the Church, and preach and teach the truths figured by 
those vestments; that they, having served their Master in 
his sanctuary on earth, may enjoy him forever in his sanctu- 



1 Petit Rational par Perin, p. 2. 2 John xiii. 4. . 3 John xiii. 12. 

* Luke xxii. 19. 5 Luke xx. 46. 6 Matt. xv. 8. 7 Luke xvi. 15. 

8 I. Cor. xiii. 1. 



128 THE CASSOCK AND BERRETTA. 

ary beyond the skies! "Where I am, there also shall my 
minister be." 1 

THE CASSOCK 

You will see the priests dressed in a robe, black and *ong, 
reaching to the ground; that is the cassock, from the ancient 
word meaning a cover or house, covering the whole person 
from head to foot. It reminds us of the seamless garment 
worn by Christ, 2 and that " the priest is another Christ." 
It tells us of the clothes worn by the men of the East in the 
times of the Roman Empire, of the times when the Church 
flourished in Asia and Northern Africa, when the deserts 
bloomed and blossomed like the rose. 5 It is like the gar- 
ments worn to-day by the men of the deserts, telling us of 
the antiquity of the Church, and how she keeps unchanged 
her customs coming down from the highest antiquity. Put- 
ting it on we are reminded of the innocence and virtue we 
lost in our father Adam, and that having lost original grace, 
we m<ust now be covered and protected from the weather. 
The garment you will see is black, because that is the color 
of death, for the priest is dead to the world and to all things 
but God, for "We are buried together with him by bap- 
tism unto death For he that is dead is justified from 

sin." 4 The collar is white. Around the neck, it reminds 
us, that as the soldier wears a collar to make him straight 
so we "labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." 5 These 
are the ordinary dress of a priest. In this country Ave take 
off the cassock when in the streets, as it is not a Catholic 
country, but where our holy religion is in full vigor the 
clergy always wear the cassock and the roman collar. 

THE BEEETTA. 

The three-cornered cap worn by the clergy is called the 
Beretta. Its four squares tell of the four quarters of the 
world, its three corners on top tell of the Trinity and all 
signify, the knowledge of the Trinity which the wearer is 
sent to preach to the four quarters of the world. The one 
worn by cardinals is red, all others are black, corresponding 
with the colors of their cassocks. 

> John xii. 26. 2 John xix. 23. 3 Darras, Hist, of the Church. 

* Rom. vi. 4. 7. 5 II. Tim. ii. 3. 




z^z vBBXXBiaTG :-'-' bs bibeobg aetc psrssrE 



1. THE AMICE. 

2. THE ALB. 



3„ THE GIRDLE- 
4., THE MANIPLE. 



5. THE STOLE. 

6, THE CHASUBLE. 



THE STJKPLICE AND AMICE. 129 

THE SURPLICE. 

Worn by all the clergy when not officiating, the surplice is 
the white garment coming down to the hips. It is called a 
surplice, from the Latin word signifying over a fur robe, for 
the cassock over which it is worn is made of fur or wool, for 
we are told, " At all times let thy garments be white," l 
that is our souls free from sin, for we must ever minister 
before God with cleanness of heart, signified by the Avhite 
surplice. Again as the sanctuary tells us of heaven, and as 
St. John, in his vision of Heaven, saw the saints of God 
clothed in white garments, 8 ministering before the throne of 
God, so the Church clothes her clergymen in white garments 
when ministering before the altar, for she wants the 
saints of earth to be like the saints of heaven. The cassock 
and the surplice belong to the inferior clergy, — those who 
received tonsure and minor orders; the alb is worn by those 
in higher orders — the sub-deacon, deacon, priest, and bishop. 
The surplice comes only to the hips, signifying that the one 
who wears it has not attained a high degree of perfection, 
while the alb covering the whole person means that the 
higher clergy have attained the highest godliness that be- 
longs to their state. 

THE SIX VESTMENTS WOBN BY BOTH BISHOPS AND PBIESTS. 
I. THE AMICE. 

The priest or bishop before he celebrates, washing his 
fingers, says: '' Give strength, O Lord, to my hands, that 
every stain being taken away, and free from uncleanness of 
soul or body, I may be able to serve thee." Then making 
the sign of the cross, he takes the white cloth called the 
amice, from a Latin word meaning to wrap up; he first puts 
it on his head, then lets it drop on his shoulders, saying: 
"Place, Lord, a helmet 3 of salvation on my head, to repel the 
attacks of the devil." The use of this garment comes down 
to us from the most ancient times, from the Ephod, signify- 
ing in Hebrew a priestly garment, 4 for by command of God 
it was worn by Aaron, the High Priest of the tabernacle. 5 

1 Eccl ix 8, 2 Apoc. iv. 4 3 Ephes. \i. 17. 

* Young's Bible Concord. Ephod. 5 Exod. xxviii. 



130 THE ALB. 

Of this the Apostle speaks when he says: "Take unto vou 
the helmet of salvation." 1 This white cloth means many 
things. Crossed upon the heart it tells us of the love of 
God which should burn in the heart of the priest preparing 
for the Holy Sacrifice; 2 doubled around the neck it signifies 
the chastising of the voice and useless words. s " For every idle 
word that men shall speak they shall render an account for it on 
the day of judgment." 4 Its ribbons crossed and tied around 
the waist, tell of the purity of soul and body that must be in 
the one who says Mass. Upon the shoulders it tells us of 
work for God and the good fight, for we must " labor like a 
good soldier of Christ Jesus." 8 The right side is always 
crossed on the left in all the vestments, for what is signified 
by the right side but the other life, and what by the left but 
the present ? 5 Thus the priest places the white amice on 
his head, for he is like the angel of the Lord seen by the 
Apostle " coming down from Heaven clothed with a cloud, 
and a rainbow was on his head." 7 It brings to our mind, 
also, that cloth with which the Jews covered the head of our 
Saviour the night before he suffered, saying: "Prophesy 
unto us Christ who is he that struck thee!"- Tht little 
cross in the middle tells of all good things coming from the 
cross of the Crucified. 

H. THE ALB. 

Putting on the alb, the celebrant says: "Whiten me. O 
Lord, and clean my heart, that, whitened in the blood of 
the Lamb, I may rejoice in everlasting happiness." The 
alb from a Latin word signifying white, for it tells of the 
purity of heart and freedom from sin which the priest 
should have when ministering at the altar, 9 for the Holy 
Ghost says, '"At all time let thy garments be white." It 
is made of fine linen, for, " The fine linen are the justifica- 
tions of saints." 10 And how ? Because as linen, first used 
in Egypt, becomes white and purified by much washing and 
bleaching, thus we are not born saints, but by much labor 
and mortification and overcoming of self, we follow the 
words of the Apostle, "I chastise my body and bring it into 

1 Eph. vi. 17. 2 Durand, Eationale Div. c. ii. De Amictu. 

a Pontif. Eom. Ord. Sub-deacon. * II. Tim. ii. 3. 5 St. Aug. 

* Apoc. x. 1. ' Matt. xxvi. GS. 

f Diction. Encvclop. de la Theo. Cath. de Goschler, Art. Venn. Sacr. 

* Eccl. is. 8. " 10 Apoc. xix >. 



THE GIEDLE. 131 

subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I 
myself should become a castaway." * The alb then by its 
whiteness signifies the purity of soul required to say Mass. 
And as the lower clergy and other priests, listening to the 
services in the sanctuary, wear the surplice, covering only 
the upper part of the body, so the celebrant at the altar 
must wear the alb covering him entirely, to tell the people 
that not a little innocence or grade of freedom from sin, 
is required in him who offers the great Sacrifice, but 
that his whole soul must be pure and white like the alb. 
The alb is tied with the girdle, for he is the minister of the 
Gospel sent forth by Christ with the words : " Let your 
loins be girt," 2 thus, the priest ascends that Mount of Tabor, 
the altar, like another Christ transfigured, clothed in white : 
" and his garments became white as snow." 3 Thus let the 
priest's alb be always white, that is, his actions like his 
Master's, " Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his 
mouth." 4 The alb tells us of the garment of derision and 
of mockery with which Herod clothed our Lord during his 
passion.' 

III. THE GIEDLE. 

Binding the alb with the girdle, the celebrant says: "Gird 
me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and destroy in my 
loins the humor of lust, that the virtues of purity and chas- 
tity may dwell within me." The girdle signifies celibacy, 
according to the words of the Lord, "Gird up thy loins 
like man;" 6 evil dwells in the loins, as the Lord speaking'of 
that kind of devil says: "His strength is in his loins," 7 
and of that our Lord spoke when he said: "This kind can 
go out by nothing but by prayer and fasting." 8 Thus, fol- 
lowing the command of the Apostle, "Stand, therefore, hav- 
ing your loins girt about with truth," 9 and of the Lord to 
the prophet of old, " Gird up thy loins," 10 the ministers of 
the Church bind the alb with the girdle. Thus bound, the 
celebrant is like unto Jesus, whom St. John saw: " One like 
to the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the feet 
and girt about the paps with a golden girdle." " Figuring 

i I. Cor. ix. 27. 2 Luke xii. 35. 3 Matt. xvii. 2. * L p e terii. 22. 

5 Durand, Rationale Div. 1. iii. c. 3. 6 Job. xl. 2. T Job. xl. 1. 

s Mark ix. 28. 9 Ephes. vi. 14. 10 Jer. 1. 17. " Apoc. 1. 13. 



132 THE MANIPLE AND STOLE. 

and representing thus the great high priest, Jesus, the priest 
is clothed like the Saviour seen with a garment reaehino- to 
his feet and his loins bound up. Again the girdle represents 
the one worn by our Lord, who was dressed according to the 
customs of the Jews, who always bound their clothes with a 
girdle. It tells also of the rope with which they bound our 
Saviour to the pillar at the scourging during his passion. 1 

IV. THE MAXIPLE. 

Putting the maniple on his left arm the celebrant says: 
"May I be worthy, Lord, to wear the maniple of tears and 
of sorrow, that with joy I may receive the reward of labor." 
In the warm countries of the east, during the first ages of 
the Church, the ministers at the altar carried a little cloth 
on their left arm as a handkerchief, till at length by custom 
it became a vestment. 2 It signifies the difficulty with which 
we work for God; for, "My soul hath slumbered through 
heaviness." 3 As the troubles of this life are rewarded by 
the happiness of the other: " They that sow in tears shall 
reap in joy," 4 the rewards awaiting them in heaven: 
"Coming they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their 
sheaves." 5 It is worn on the left hand for the left is this 
world, the right signifies the world to come. 6 The left hand 
is tied from the things of this world and its business, the 
right hand is free, for he is free to work for the things 
of the other world. It recalls the cord with which they tied 
the sacred hands of our Lord, when the Jews took Jesus and 
bound him. 7 The priest takes the maniple with the other 
vestments, the Bishop only at the prayers at the beginning 
of Mass; while all wear it only duringMass. These are the 
remains of ancient customs. 

V. THE STOLE. 

Taking the stole the celebrant puts it on his neck saying: 
" Give to me, Lord, the stole of immortality which 1 lost in 
the sin of our first parents, and although I* unworthy go to 
thy holy Mysterv, nevertheless may I be worthy of everlast- 
ing joy." Taking the stole or maniple, he first kisses the 
little cross on each, \Ye kiss what we love, so he kisses the 

1 Dnrand. Rationale Div. 1. iii. c. 4. n. 6 

2 Diet. En. de Theo. de Goshler. Art. Vet. Sacer. 

• Psalm 118 28. i Psalm exxv 5. 5 Psau» cur, 7. »St A-r. 

7 Joan xviii. 12. 



THE STOLE. 133 

cross, the cause of our salvation. Made large formerly the 
stole covered the whole body, 1 now it has become a small 
band with enlarged ends with crosses and ornaments. The 
stole is placed upon the neck, for as a yoke is placed upon 
the neck, it means the light yoke of Christ, 2 and at the 
ordination of the deacon the bishop places the stole on his 
neck, saying: "Receive the yoke of Christ, for his yoke is 
sweet and his burden light." 3 Hanging down on each side, 
it tells of the power of him who goes forth to fight the devil 
with, " The armor of justice on the right hand and on the 
left." 4 At Mass the stole is always crossed upon the priest's 
heart, for it recalls the sacrifice of the cross; at vespers the 
stole hangs down in repose on either side, for then the priest 
figures Christ in the repose of eternity, sitting at the right 
hand of his Father in heaven. 5 Bishops never cross the 
stole, for they are supposed to have arrived at the repose 
gained by perfect virtue, and to always represent Christ. 
It tells us of the innocence we lost in our first parents, for 
the bishop says at the ordination, " May the Lord clothe 
thee with the stole of innocence." 5 Worn by the deacon 
it is placed on the left shoulder, the two ends crossing, one 
on the back the other on his breast and meeting above" the 
hips. It is on the left, for that signifies corporal things; the 
left is bound by the stole, showing that the deacon is bound 
from the things of this world; the right signifies spiritual 
things, the right is free, signifying that the deacon is free to 
seek spiritual things. 7 The stole is a sign of spiritual 
authority, and power in spiritual things; for that reason the 
priest never administers a sacrament, or performs any of his 
priestly duties in a solemn manner without the stole. As 
the Pope has supreme spiritual power over the whole world, 
he always wears the stole; 8 that is the band of ornamental 
work on his shoulders. In an old council a law was made 
that the priest must do nothing unless he first puts on the 
stole. 9 The stole comes down from the times of the Patri- 
archs, for the first-born, after having received his father's 

i Diction, En. de la Theo Cath de Goshler, A. Vet. Sac. 

2 Matt. xi. 29 3 Pontif. Eom. de Ord. ad Diacon. 4 II. Cor. vi. 7. 

5 Psalm cix. 1. 6 Pontif. Rom. De Ord, Diacom. 

T Durand, Rationale Div. 1. iii. c v 

s Diet. En. de la Theo. Cath. de Goshler, A. Vet. Sac, 

9 Concil. Trebure In Bro. C. Presbyt. 



134 THE CHASUBLE. 

blessing put on a stole, that as high priest he might offer 
victims to the Lord. 1 The stole signified the innocence lost 
in Adam regained by the victim sacrificed, and rightly, for 
that innocence lost through Adam's disobedience is now 
gained by obedience signified by the stole, the yoke of 
obedience and submission to God. By the rules of the 
Church no one lower than a deacon can wear the stole. 2 
The stole recalls to us the bonds with which they bound our 
Lord to the pillar at the scourging. 3 

VI. THE CHASUBLE. 

Patting on the chasuble the celebrant says: "O Lord, who 
hast said: my yoke is sweet and my burden light, grant that 
I may carry this in such a way that I may increase in thy 
grace. Amen." The word chasuble comes from the Latin, 
meaning a garment covering the whole body, telling of the 
nuptial robe of which our Lord speaks when he says: 
''Friend, how earnest thou in hither not having on a wedding 
garment?-' 4 It signifies that charity without which the 
celebrant is like the sounding brass or the tinkling cymbal. 5 
It tells us of charity, for as the sacrifice of the Mass is the 
fulness of the love of God to man, thus charity is the ful- 
ness of all justice, 6 for "Let thy priests be clothed with jus- 
tice." 7 Thus the chasuble is worn over all the other vest- 
ments as charity is above all the other virtues. It speaks of 
that charity without which we are nothing. If I speak 
with tongues of men and of angels; if I should have prophecy 
and should know all mysteries; if I could remove moun- 
tains; if I should deliver all my goods to feed the poor; if I 
should do all things and have not charity, I am nothing. 8 
This charity is freedom from mortal sin, for then the Holy 
Ghost makes a temple of the soul and fills it with charity. 

Such is the meaning of the chasuble; it hangs down behind 
and before in two parts, for charity is of two kinds: "Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God. . . . Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
bor as thyself. . . . On these two commandments dependeth 
the whole Law and the Prophets." 9 The priest, then, must 
minister at the altar with a pure heart, free from sin, for 

1 Durand, Rationale Div. 1. iii. c. 5. n. 6. 2 xxiii. Dist. non Oportet. 

3 Durand. Rationale Div. 1. iii. c. v. n. 7. 4 Matt. xxfi. IB. 5 I. Cor. xiii. 1. 

6 Card, de Lugo, de Just et Jure circa Init. 7 Psalm exxxi. 9. 

8 1. Cor. xin.l3. 9 Matt. xxii. 37. 39, 40. 




_ HZ _^S_1_ 



7 t THE SANDALS. 

8„ THE VEIL. 

9, THE GOLDEN CROSS. 



10. THE TUNIC. 
I I . THE Di- CT : 
12, THE GLC E 



53H0PS 



3 THE MITRE. 

14. THE F N : 

15. THE CROZIER. 



THE SANDALS. 135 

" the end of the commandment is charity, from a pure heart 
and a good conscience and unfeigned faith." ' Not alone a 
soul free from sin but adorned with all virtues, and virtue 
altogether is called justice, and the soul of the priest is 
clothed with justice. "Let thy priests be clothed with 
justice." 2 It recalls to our minds the cross carried up Calvary 
by our Lord the day of his crucifixion. Thus, the priest 
robed in sacred vestments has the power of Christ, that he 
may humbly pray to God for himself and all his people; 
before him he has the pillar, to tell the people of the pillar 
to which the Saviour was bound in the scourging, behind 
him on his back the chasuble has the cross, to tell the people 
of the cross of Calvary; thus on the chasuble before and 
behind are the two principal instruments of his sufferings, 
the pillar and the cross, to signify that before and behind 
him are the footprints and the example of Christ during his 
passion; before him is the pillar that he may arm himself 
for temptation by the sufferings of his Lord, behind him on 
the chasuble is the cross, that he may carry his crosses and 
trials with patience for his sins; thus like Christ carrying 
his cross up the Mount of Calvary the priest carries his cross 
up the altar; like the great High Priest of the whole 
Avorld, who died for us, who always prayed for us, he 
offers sacrifice for his people and prays for their salvation. 2 
It tells us of the purple robe, the garment of derision, put on 
Christ, and with which in mockery the soldiers clothed our 
Lord. 4 

Such are the six vestments used by both bishops and 
priests, in celebrating the Divine Mysteries; let us now 
understand the nine vestments used by the bishop alone. 

THE NINE VESTMENTS OF THE BISHOPS. 
VII. THE SANDALS. 

In ancient times all wore sandals, now shoes and boots 
have taken their place. The bishop wears sandals or shoes; 
that comes not from the Law of Moses, as Aaron and his 
priesthood had no covering for their feet, for not to the 
priesthood of the Old Law was it said: "Going there- 
fore teach ye all nations," 5 for they were confined to one 

1 1. Tim. i. 5. 2 p S alm cxxxi. 9. 3 Im. of Christ, 1. iv. c. v. n. 3. 

4 John xix. 2, 5 Matt, xxvtfi. 19- 



136 THE VEIL. 

nation the Jews, to one church, the temple. The Bishop there- 
fore about to celebrate first has his feet dressed, a ceremony 
coming from the last supper, for our Lord washed his dis- 
ciples' feet: "He that is washed needeth not but to wash 
his feet, but is clean wholly." 1 The beauty of that ceremony 
in its simplicity was foreseen by Israel's greatest inspired pro- 
phet, where he says : "How beautiful upon the mountains 
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings and thatpreach- 
eth peace," 2 and the Apostle tells the Christians to resist tempta- 
tion with " your feet shod with the preparation of the 
Gospel of peace." 3 Such then is the meaning of the sandals, 
the soul prepared for its mission of spreading the Gospel to 
all parts of the earth as our Lord sent his disciples with their 
sandals on, prepared to preach his Gospel, 4 and when they re- 
ceived them not, to shake the dust from their feet, for they 
were "to be shod with sandals." 5 The custom in many places 
now is to wear shoes in place of sandals, but the tyjncal 
meaning remains the same. The bishop, the head of his 
church, represents our Lord, the head of the Church on earth; 
taking the two sandals reminds us of the two natures in 
Christ united in him, that is the mystery of the Incarnation. 
Of this the Lord spoke by Israel's prophets saying : "Into 
Edom I will stretch my shoe," 6 that is God would show the 
mystery of the God-Man to the Gentile nations. The Deity 
came to us sandalled, that is clothed in the human nature of 
Christ that he might fulfil the duties of the high priesthood 
for us. Of him the blessed John the Baptist said: "The 
latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose;" 7 of him the 
Prophet said: "Adore his footstool, for it is holy." 8 

Till. THE VEIL. 

In celebrating the bishop has a veil placed on his knees 
coming up and covering his breast. In Rome, when the Pope 
celebrates, he takes it and ties it like a veil upon his 
shoulders and before his breast after the custom of the high 
priest of the tabernacle who was clothed with the Ephod; 9 that 
is the humeral veil which in the New Law has given way to 
the amice on the shoulder of the celebrant. 

i John xiii. 10. 2 Isaias lii. 7. 3 ^phes. vi - 15 - 

4 Luke x 11 5 Mark vi. 9 6 Psalm lix. 9. 

» John i ' 27. 8 Psalm xcviii. 5. 9 Exod. xxviii. 4. 



THE GOLDEN CROSS 137 

That veil is to place his hands upon, so as not to soil the 
vestments. We do not find any mention of its typical sig- 
nification, but the writer remembers how for many Sundays 
and holydays, when a deacon, he placed the veil upon the 
knees of the Bishop of Montreal during the ceremonies carried 
out in the cathedral like in St. Peter's at Rome. 

IX. THE GOLDEN CEOSS. 

The bishop always wears a cross on his breast, a cross 
hanging from his neck. For as in the Old Law the high 
priest Aaron wore a gold plate hanging over his forehead, 1 
so the high priest of the New Law, the Bishop, wears a gold 
cross hanging from his neck. On the plate on Aaron's fore- 
head were the words : " Holy to the Lord ;" 2 in the bishop's 
cross are the relics of the saints whose lives were holy to the 
Lord. These words on Aaron's plate of gold were written in 
four letters of the Hebrew tongue, the cross has four arms 
that " you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what 
is the breadth and length and hight and depth. To know 
also the charity of Christ," 3 that is the love of Christ as shown 
for us in his death on the cross. The bishop, as the name 
signifies is the overseer of the house of God, as Joseph was of 
the house of Pharaoh, so like Joseph he wears a golden chain 
around his neck. As Aaron carried on his forehead the mystery 
of the golden plate, so the bishop carries on his breast the 
mystery of Christ dead on the cross ; for you are told to 
" Glorify and bear God in your body." 4 Putting on or taking 
off the cross he always kisses it to show how he loves the 
cross of Christ by which we were redeemed, and to show that he 
carries with love and patience the crosses and afflictions which 
God sends him in this life. 

X. THE TUNIC. 

Taking the tunic the bishop says: "May the Lord clothe me 
with the tunic of joy, and the robe of happiness." The tunic 
comes to us from the highest antiquity. Joseph wore " a coat 
of divers colors." 5 They made also "fine linen tunics with 
woven work for Aaron and his sons." 6 The tunic was worn by 
the young of both sexes among the Romans, to-day it is the 
garment of the sub-deacon, signifying the joy of him who 

1 Exod. xxviii. 36, 37, 38. 2 Eoxd. xxviii. 36. 3 Ephes. iii. 18, 19. 

4 I. Cor. 7i. 20. 5 Gen. xxxvii. 3. 6 Exod. xxxix. 25. 



138 THE DALMATIC. 

enters among the higher clergy. It signifies perseverance ; 
hence it is put on after the alb, for as the alb tells of purity of 
heart, so the tunic teaches perseverence in that purity of soul, 
for " He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved," 1 
To him who wears the tunic our Lord says: "Be thou 
faithful until death and I will give thee the crown of life." 2 

XI. THE DALMATIC. 

Putting on the dalmatic the bishop says: " Clothe me, Lord? 
with the vestment of salvation, the robe of joy, and ever 
surround me with the dalmatic of justice." The dalmatic 
according to some was the garment worn by the people of 
ancient Dalmatia; 3 according to others one of the garments 
worn by our Lord. 4 Pope Sylvester ordered that it was to be 
taken right after the tunic. It signifies the mercy with 
which "through the bowels of the mercy of our God in 
which the Orient from on high hath vested us," 5 and died 
for us. It tells of the mercy for all who err and sin which 
should be in the heart of those who wear it. " Be ye there- 
fore merciful, as your Father also is merciful." 6 

The white surplice is worn by the inferior clergy, the tunic 
by the sub-deacon, the dalmatic by the deacon, and the 
chasuble by the priest; but the bishop wears all with his 
own vestments, to signify that he has all the powers of the 
clergy below him by his consecration into the episcopal office, 
and that he is the source of all their powers, signified by 
the vestments, as the clergy are all ordained by him. 

XII. THE GLOVES. 

Putting on the gloves the bishop says: " Cover my hands, 
Lord, with the cleanness of the new man who came down from 
heaven, that as Jacob thy beloved covered his hands with 
goatskin in giving the sweet food and drink, so that he might 
gain the fatherly blessing, thus may the victim offered by my 
hands be worthy of the blessings of thy grace. Through 
our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son who offered himself for us in 
the likeness of sinful flesh." From this prayer you see that 
the skin of the goat is the likeness of sin; with goatskin 
Rebecca clothed Jacob, who signified Christ, signifying that 

1 Matt. x. 22. 2 Apoc. xi. 10. 

8 La Litursio Explique. par L'Abbe Massard, p. 98. 

* Durand, "Rationale Div 1. iii. c. xi. n. 1. 3 Luke i. 78. • Luke vi. 36. 



THE MITRE. 139 

the second Adam, Christ, was to take the sin of the first 
Adam and ours, that through suffering and death he might 
obtain forgiveness for our sins and blessings from his father. 
For all that happened at the blessing of Jacob was filled with 
mysteries. 1 The gloves tell of the care and prudence with 
which the bishop should exercise his powers and.the discretion 
which should rule his acts, not letting his right hand know 
what his left does, as the Gospel says. A 

XIII. THE MITRE. 

After having put on the chasuble, the deacon puts the 
mitre on the bishop's head, the bishop saying: "Place, 
Lord, on my head the helmet of salvation, that I may be 
guarded from the snares of the old foe and of all enemies." 
Sitting on his throne the bishop is the successor of the Apostle, 
whom our Lord placed on " Twelve seats judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel." 2 

Wearing the mitre he is the elect of God, of whom the 
Prophet says: "Thou hast crowned him with glory and 
honor." 3 The Pope from the time of Constantine the Em- 
peror wears a triple crown, or three crowns united in one, 
signifying the three powers centering in him: the temporal 
power as a prince; his authority over all bishops as chief 
bishop, "Feed my sheep;" 4 his authority over all the faith- 
ful, "Feed my lambs." 5 Such is the meaning of the Pope's 
tiara or triple crown. 6 The bishop's mitre has two horns, 
one before, one behind, pointing up towards heaven; they 
tell of the knowledge of God in the two Testaments, the Old 
and New; they remind us of the horns with which Moses was 
crowned when he came down from the mountain, where he 
talked with God/ The two ribbons hanging down tell us 
of the plate of gold hanging down from Aaron's mitre, 3 and 
of the eminent knowledge and sanctity that the bishop should 
possess. The bishop does not wear the mitre at the altar in 
consecrating the Body and Blood of Christ, for no one is 
allowed to have the head covered during the Mass, 9 because 
priests have the same power, with regard to the sacrifice; 
and because they receive that power without wearing the 
mitre; and because the Apostle tells men not to cover their 

1 S. Aug. Lib. contra Mendaciuni c. 10. t. 4. 2 Math. xxix. 28. 3 Psalm viii 6 

4 John xxi. 17. 6 John xxi. 16. 6 Father Burke's Serin. The Pope's Tiara 

7 Exod. xxxiv. 29. 8 Exod. xxviii. 36. 9 Concil. Rom. Com 13 743 



140 THE RING AXD CEOSIER. 

heads when praying in the church, for these reasons Pope 
Zachary 1 ordered that the bishop going to the altar should 
put away his mitre and pastoral staff or crosier. 

XTV, THE KENG. 

Taking the ring the bishop says : "Beautify the fingers 
of my body and soul, O Lord, and surround me with^the 
sevenfold holiness of the Spirit." The ring is the pledge of 
faith with which Christ wedded the Church his spouse. 
As the youug man puts a ring on the finger of his spouse, as 
the bishop is wedded to the church his diocese, thus he wears 
the ring as a pledge of his faith towards the church, that he 
may love her like himself, that he may offer her a chaste and 
perfect spouse to the Lord Jesus, of this the Apostle says: 
" I have espoused you to one husband." ' In olden times 
letters were always sealed with a ring, and their genuineness 
was know by the bishop's seal. Such was the origin of the 
episcopal ring and of the large stone set m it. 

XV. THE CROSIER. 

During the ceremonies of the consecration of a bishop, in 
handing the crosier to the new bishop the consecrator says: 
" Take the rod of the pastoral office, that thou may be severe 
in correcting vice." 3 The crosier conies to us from the most 
ancient times, for we read that Moses was sent by God into 
Egypt with a rod in his hand; and with that, as an episcopal 
staff, he did wonders in heaven, on sea. and upon land; 
lifting up his hand he brought the plagues on Egypt; stretch- 
ing his rod over the sea the water~ engulfed Pharao and 
his army;' striking the rock with that rod the water gushed 
forth to quench the thirst of the dying Israelite-.' 

Again it comes to us from the Gospel, for Christ sent forth 
his disciples with staffs in their hands to preach the Gospel, 
to tell of Christ the Saviour: thus the bishops, success ra 
of the Apostles, have their staffs, their crosiers, to signify 
their Apostolic authority and the power they have and 
should exercise in correcting sin. Of this the Apostle speaks 
when he says . K Shall I come to you with a i It is 

then the pastoral staff. As the shepherd's staff was curved 
at the top so that he could put it on the neck of the stray 

1 De Consecr Dist. 1. Melius. 5 II. Cor. r I * In Const - 

« Esod. xiv. 87. = Exod. xvii, 6. 6 I. Cor. : 




T3IE CATHEDRAI^ COI-OGILE. 



THE COLOR OF THE VESTMENTS. 141 

sheep and bring her back, thus the pastoral staff is curved. 
As the crosier is curved at the top it signifies that the epis- 
copal authority is limited by the power of Rome. The Pope, 
although he is Bishop of Rome, has no crosier, because 
history says its first Bishop, St. Peter, gave his crosier to 
another to raise the dead and never used one after that; 
and also to signify that his authority is limited by no power 
on earth. 

THE PALLIUM. 

Archbishops, Primates, and Patriarchs, during divine 
service, wear a garment around their necks, exteuding on 
their shoulders and down before and behind like a scarf in 
the form of a cross. It is called the pallium. It comes 
from the Rational and Humeral worn by Aaron in the 
service of the tabernacle of the Old Law. 1 It is always 
made of the wool of lambs kept by the sisters near Rome and 
sent by the Pope to the Archbishop as a token of the ful- 
ness of power given by the Holy See. It signifies the 
benignity, kindness and gentleness that should reign in 
the heart of the Archbishop, like to the Saviour, ''Led as a 
sheep to the slaughter." 2 

THE FIVE COLORS OE THE VESTMENTS. 

The vestments worn by the priests are of five colors; white, 
black, red, green and violet. These come to us from the 
colors of the vestments of the tabernacle, for they had white 
linen, purple, scarlet, violet, and goat's hair. s 

As the earth is clothed with lilies, roses, green herbs, dead 
branches and earth, so the Church clothes her ministers with 
those colors according to the truths she wishes to teach 
her children. White signifies joy, holiness, innocence, and 
purity For that reason it is used on all feasts of our Lord, 
to teach the innocence and purity of his life; also^ on the 
feasts of the Virgin Mary, for the same reason. It is white 
vestments that the priest wears on all feasts of confessors 
of the Church, for " These are they who were not defiled 
with women, for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth." 4 White vestments are used on the 
feasts of virgins, for the virgins u Follow the Lamb where 

* Durand, Rational Div. de Vest. Pallium. 2 Isaias liii. 7, 

s Exod. xxv. 4, 5. 4 Apoc. xiv 4. 



142 GREEtf AND VIOLET VESTMENTS. 

he goeth, and sing a new song which no one can sing, for 
they are virgins." 1 White is used on the feasts of the holy 
angels, for of them, was said, " When the morning stars 
praised me together, and all the sons of God made a joyful 
melody." 2 

Black is the color of death, for that reason when our friends 
are dead our mothers and sisters clothe themselves in mourn- 
ing, and the priests are in black for they are dead to the 
world. From the Church in former ages came that custom 
of putting on mourning for the dead, for when her children 
were dead, at the Mass the clergy were clothed in black 
vestments; but the color is not an essential part of the Mass, 
and the sacrifice is the same in whatever color it is celebrated. 
But when a child dies before the age of committing sin, the 
vestments are white as a sign of innocence; thus, on Good 
Friday we have black vestments, for we are mourning for the 
death of our Lord. At funerals and Masses for the dead we 
have black, for we are mourning for one of the children of 
the Church. 

Red is the color of blood, for that reason we have red 
vestments when we celebrate the feast of one who has shed 
his blood for the love of God. Therefore, on feasts of the 
martyrs we have the red to remind the people of the death 
of the martyrs, of the million of Christians who gave their 
blood, their life, for the faith we now profess. As all the 
Apostles died martyrs, we havered on their feasts. St. John 
was put into a caldron of boiling oil, but by the power of 
God, he was delivered to write the book of the Apocalypse. 
As he then to'all intents was a martyr, we celebrate his day 
with red vestments as for the other martyrs. We use red 
on Pentecost Sunday, to remind the people of the red fiery 
tongues with which the Holy Ghost descended on the 
Apostles. 3 

On feasts of the Holy Ghost the vestments are green 
because, as the whole earth is covered with green plants, 
thus the green signifies the perpetual and everlasting youth 
which the Holy Ghost gives and renews in the Church. 
Thus, that Holy Church, filled with the spirit of God. '' shall 
be as a tree that is planted by the waters ; and the leaf 

1 Apoc. xiv. 3. a Job xxxviii. 7. 3 Acts ii. 3. 



THE pope's cassock. 143 

tfoeitaof shall be green." ' We wear the green vestments on 
all feasts of the Holy Ghost to tell of the religious life in us, 
and that as the green herbs are the nourishing principle of 
all life, thus the Holy Ghost is the principle of all our good 
thoughts and actions. 

As in ancient times, when doing penance, the prophets, 
kings, and the just of Israel clothed themselves with sack- 
cloth and ashes ; thus the Church when doing penance, 
clothes her ministers in violet, which is the nearest color 
to ashes, to tell the people to do penance for their sins. 
Thus at all times of penance, in Advent and Lent, at the 
quarter tenses, and at times of fasting and of penance, you 
see the clergy celebrating in violet vestments, telling by that 
and preaching to the people by these vestments: "Unless 
you shall do penance you shall all likewise perish." 2 

Often the vestments are of gold cloth, or imitation of gold. 
These may be used either as white or red. The custom 
of having gold vestments comes thus from the Old Testament, 
for the vestments of the tabernacle were of gold twisted and 
interwoven into the cloth, as now we make them for our 
churches. 3 

There is a little book called the Ordo, according to which 
the clergy celebrate Mass and say their Breviary. In that 
book are laid down the rules according to which the Mass is 
said and the colors chosen. 

The color of the soutane or cassock worn by nearly all priests 
is black, signifying that the priest is dead to the world. The 
bishop's cassock is purple, for that was the color of the rulers 
of ancient times, to signify that they are the rulers of the 
Church; they are on the "Twelve seats judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel." 4 The cassock worn by the cardinals is red. 
Red was the color worn by the Roman Emperors and the red 
of the cardinals signify that they are the princes of the 
Church, and that they are ready to shed the last drop of their 
blood in her defence. The Pope's cassock is white signifying 
the eminent and spotless sanctity and innocence typified by 
white, figured by the white robes of Aaron, high priest and 
ruler of the people of God. 

* Jer. xvii. 8, 2 Luke xiii> 3> s ;g X o<j. xxxix. 3. 4 Matt. xix. 28. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE MASS EXPLAINED. 

REASONS OF THE CEREMONIES FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE 
GOSPEL. 

Among the mysteries left by the Son of God, the most 
holy, the most wonderful and transcending above all is the 
sacrifice of the Mass ; the marriage feast wherein is killed 
the fatted calf, 1 the bread of life, the nuptial feast prepared 
by Wisdom 2 for those who love him. Such was the greatest 
work of Christ, when he founded the New Testament and 
sealed it with his blood, 3 disposing to his followers a king- 
dom, as his Father disposed to him, 4 that they might eat and 
drink at his table, 5 in his kingdom on the earth, his Holy 
Church. For while they were at the table, the Lord Jesus, 
the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and 
giving thanks, broke, and said : " Take ye and eat, this is my 
body which shall be delivered for you ; this do for the com- 
memoration of me." Filled then with the words of the Lord, 
the Apostles began to celebrate the divine mysteries after 
their Master went up into heaven. This the Apostle tells us, 
for he says: "For I have received of the Lord that which I 
also deliver unto you. 6 " Tradition tells us that St. Peter was 
the first to say Mass in Antioc, where for seven years he sat 
upon his episcopal throne and ruled the church ; history 
says that St. James the Apostle, called " the brother of our 
Lord,'' because he was his cousin, as first Bishop of Jerusa- 
lem said Mass in that city; -history speaks of St. John the 
beloved disciple, as Bishop of Ephesus saying Mass with a 

1. Luke xv. 

2. Wisdom IX. 

3. Levit IV. 6. 

4. Luke, XXI L. 29. 

5. 1 Cor., XI. 23-24, Luke XXII, 17 to 21. 
6- ICor. XL 33. 



142 FE02i PASSED AGES. 

golden helmet on his head : tradition mentions St. Mark the 
disciple of St. Peter, as first Bishop of Alexandria, offering 
up the holy sacrifice in that city. Thus from the mists of 
passed ages come the stories of the Apostles, and of apos- 
t oh c men offering up the sacrifice of the Lamb of God; 
some celebrating in all the simplicity of primitive Christianity; 
some adding new beauties and solemnities to add dignity to 
the sacred Rites, like Popes Galesus. Celestin. and Gregory^ 
surrounding that grand and mystic Bite with forms, vest- 
ments, and ceremonies, grand and majestic, still they tell in 
the language of symbols and of figures of all the mysteries 
of the Old and Xew Testaments, of the life, death, resurrec- 
tion, ascension and eternal glories of the Crucified. Thus 
in the ages passed was beautified that eternal and everlast- 
ing sacrifice, that is to go on till the end of time and be 
offered up on every hill-top and in every valley from the ris- 
ing to the setting of the sun. wherever the Lord of host- ifi 
great among the Gentiles. Thus that greatest act of man 
contains vrithin it all the works of God for man. It is made 
up of the persons taking part, in the work by which it is com- 
pleted, in the words by which it is said and in the things 
going to make the Mass. The persons are of three kinds; 
the celebrant, the assistants, and the listeners : the works 
are of three kinds ; gestures, acts, and in movements ; the 
words are of three kinds: the prayers, lessons, and pr;?.: 
while the things around the sacrifice are of three kinds : 
ornaments beautifying the sanctuary, instruments to aid. in 
the sacrifice and elements changed into His Bodv and 
Blood. 1 

Xo priest is obliged to say Mass each day. He fulfills the 
strict obligation by celebrating three or four times each year. 2 
But the one who has the care of souls must say Mass for 
them every Sunday and holiday/ Priests say Mass every 
day if convenient. In former times they celebrated many 
times each day, and Pope Leo is said to have consecrated 
seven and even nine times in one day. The remains of tt 
customs are seen to day in the three Masses said by the 

1. J. J. Languet De VeroEccL Sensu Circa S. Carrim Usum. Durand Ra- 
tionale Div. L. IVC I. n 12 

2. Gury Tract de Eucharist, n 360 

3. Cone. Trident. Ses. XXIII, C 1, Constit. Benedict XIV. Cum Semper die 

19. 1744 



IN THREE LANGUAGES. 143 

clergy on Christmas. At other times we can now say but 
one Mass each day, 1 but in case of necessity the bishop can 
give permission to offer the Sacrifice twice on Sundays and 
holidays, where there are two congregations to be attended 
by one priest. 

In former times, when heretics attacked the Trinity and 
the teachings of our holy faith, at the request of St. Boni- 
face, Archbishop of Metz, the Mass of the Holy Trinity was 
said on Sunday, that of Holy Wisdom on Monday, of the 
Holy Ghost on Tuesday, of Holy Charity on Wednesday, of 
the Angels on Thursday, of the True Cross on Friday, and 
on Saturday they said the Mass of the Blessed Virgin. The 
attacks of the heretics having ceased, these Masses fell into 
disuse, but we see their remains in the Masses sometimes 
said on these days. The sacrifice of the Mass, being the 
mystic death and remembrance of the passion and suffering 
©f our Lord, it is celebrated in three languages, in Latin, 
Greek, and Hebrew, for the inscription on the cross over our 
Lord's head was in these three tongues, 2 to tell that every 
tongue, represented by these, should praise the Lord, because 
" The Lord Jesus Christ is the glory of God the Father." 3 
And although there are many languages, these were the chief 
at the time of our Saviour, and will always be the learned 
languages, the tongues of religion ; the Hebrew because of 
the Old Testament and the law of Moses figuring the mys- 
teries of the Mass and because it is the oldest of all ; the 
Greek because it was the language of the learned in the old- 
en times of the Apostles ; the Latin because it was the lan- 
guage of the world and was spread everywhere at the found- 
ation of the Church. The Gospel, Epistles, the Prayers and 
parts sung, with nearly all the rest are in Latin ; the Kyrie, 
Eleison, the Christe Eleison, the Agios and Theos are in 
Greek ; the Alleluia, the Amen, the Sabaoth and the Hosanna 
are in Hebrew. When the Pope celebrates, on the principle 
feasts, the Epistles and Gospels are read both in Greek and 
Latin, to show that he is the head of both the Greek and 
Latin Rites, that of the Eastern and Western Churches. 

The holy sacrifice must not be said in every place, but only 

1, By order of Pope Alexander II. 1061 to 1073. 

2, John XIX, 19-20. 

3, Philip II, II. 



144 OLD CUSTOMS. 

in churches and chapels dedicated or consecrated for that 
purpose. That was the law even among the Jews, according 
to the word of the Lord: "Beware lest thou offer thy holo- 
caust in every place, but in the place which the Lord shall 
choose in one of thy tribes shall thou offer sacrifices." 1 In 
case of necessity, on sea, 2 under a tent in time of war, even 
among the trees of the forest, Mass may be said with the 
permission of the bishop. From the times of persecutions 
in Ireland, Mass is said in houses and the visites of the 
priests are called "stations." 

Pope Sextus ordered that the Sacrifice should be offered 
up only on an altar ; Pope Felix that the relics of the saints 
should be placed in the stone forming the altar ; Pope Boni- 
face II. that during its celebration the clergy should be sepa- 
rated from the people ; Pope Martin, that some parts should 
be sung; 3 Pope Vigilius, that the altar should be placed 
when convenient in the East, for Christ will come in the East 
to judge mankind, and the garden of Paradice was in the 
East; Pope Gregory the Great, that the Kyrie should be 
nine times repeated, that the words, " Wilt thou direct our 
days in thy peace," 4 be said ; Pope Pius I, imposed penance 
for want of care in offering the sacrifice, 5 thus that long line 
of Popes, that royal house of Peter the fisherman, used all 
their power to either beautify, purify, or keep to the Apos- 
tolic traditions the rites and ceremonies of the Mass. 

In former times those under instruction but not yet re- 
ceived into the Church were called Catecumens. They were 
allowed to hear Mass till the Offertory, when the deacon 
cried out, "If a Catecumen be present, let him go out," be- 
cause the custom was for no one to be present but those be- 
longing to the Church while the mysteries were taking place. 
The Counsel of Carthage made a law allowing Jews, Gentiles 
heritics and incestuous men to be present till the Catecumens 
were sent away. 

Writers do not agree with regard to the origin of the 

1. Deut. XII, 13-U 

2. Be Consecrat Dist, 1 c Fin. 

3. Durand L IV, C 1. See Turtul, adv Val. CII and Constitut. Apostol. L-I 

C. 61. 

4. Brev. Of. S. Greg, Mag, 

5. Brev, Of. S. Peii, I. 



THE WORD "MASS." 145 

word Mass. 1 Some say it comes from the Hebrew word 
Massah, a debt ; others that it is the Greek Myesis iniation, 
others that it comes from an old word common in Northern 
Europe, Mes or Messe, a feast or banquet, from that come 
the English words Christmas, Michaelmas and many of the 
old feasts of the English Church before the Eeformation. 
Bat it appears rather to come from the custom of sending 
away those under instruction, the Jews, Gentiles, and stran- 
gers before the consecration, at the sending out of the 
Catecumens. They were sent away by the deacon crying 
out as given above ; the people were sent away at the end 
by the deacon at a Low or the celebrant at a High Mass 
saying or singing : "Go, the dismissal is at hand." The 
word "dismissal" in Latin is "Missa," and as in the early 
ages of the church the people kept all their services secret, 
they used to say, " Is the Missa said yet, " that is to say have 
the people been sent away yet, which meant, "Is the Mass 
ended yet?" They became accustomed to call the great 
Sacrifice the "Missa." From that came the Latin word 
Missa and the English Mass. This appears to be the most 
reasonable origin of the word. 

It comes then from the word meaning to go or to be sent, 2 
and well, for it tells in mystic meaning of him sent from 
Heaven to redeem the world, of him who is offered in the 
Mass, of him who in the fullness of time was sent to the 
Jews to be the redeemer of the human race, of him sent to 
us from the Father, of him the angel of the great counsel, 
by whose hands that sacrifice is carried from our altar on 
earth to his high altar in heaven ; that offering is the Victim 
sent by the Father to the world to take our nature, to die, 
and to be offered up throughout the everlasting ages and to 
the end of time in the tremendous sacrifice of the altar. 3 

The Mass is the chief act of the christian religion, the 
sacrifice offered at the altar, in which by the institution of 
bur Lord, and according to the rites of our holy religion the 
Body and Blood of Christ are offered as an unbloody sacrifice 
to the Father. 

But what is a sacrifice 1 Let us understand well what is 
the Mass. It is a sacrifice, and a sacrifice is an offering 

1. O'Brien Hist, of the Mass. 

2. St. Ambrose L. IV. Epist. XXXIII. S- Aug. Ser de tern, 237, 

3. Durand Rationale Div. L. IV. C. I. n. 49, 



146 WHAT IS A SACRIFICE. 

made by man to the Supreme Being, telling by that offering 
that we come entirely from Him our Creator, and therefore 
that we should be wholly consumed in the honor and the 
worship of the Almighty. But because it is not allowed 
man to sacrifice himself and take his life and offer it as a 
sacrifice, he takes another being, dear to him, and offers it 
to the Lord in place of himself. That is a sacrifice. 1 It is 
then the offering of a sensible thing, by a chosen minister, 
so that by destroying it he testifies to God's supreme author- 
ity OYer us and our dependence on him ; it must be the offer- 
ing of a sensible thing, that is something which appears to 
our senses, whether living or inanimate, and not internal 
prayers; it must be offered by one with authority to sacrifice, 
separated from the people like Aaron and his family ; it must 
be offered only to God, for sacrifice offered to a creature is 
idolatry ; it must be destroyed so as to no more be useful to 
niarj ; it must be offered with the intention of showing our 
subjection to God and his supreme power over us as our 
Creator. Then it is a true sacrifice. 

There must be then five things in a sacrifice in order that 
it may be acceptable to God. There must be the thing apt 
to be sacrificed; when living it is called a host, from the 
pagan custom of sacrificing those of the enemy taken in 
battle called hosts ; there must be the act by which the thing 
is destroyed, called its immolation, from ancient times when 
they sprinkled meal or flour on the victim for the sacrifice ; 
there must be the legitimate end of the sacrifice offered to 
the Supreme Being, for he alone is our Creator ; there must 
be the legitimate man for that purpose, like Aaron chosen 
by the Lord, like Christ called by his Father, like the priests 
of the new Law descending by ordination frorn the Apostles ; 
there must be the work of God in instituting the sacrifice, 
and ordaining what he will receive, then only will it be ac- 
cepted by him as a witness of his supreme power over us. 
Hence in every sacrifice there is an altar, a priest, a victim 
and an immolation. 

Sacrifice is divided into three classes, according to the 
three ages of the world ; the sacrifices of the Patriarchs 
from Adam to Moses, when the first born by birthright, was 
a priest of the Most High, and offered victims and oblations 

1. Card, De Lugo, De Euchar, Disput. XIX S. 1. 



THE SACRIFICES OF THE OLD LATF. 147 

for the family ; the sacrifices of the Jewish law from Moses 
to Christ, ordained by God where the priests descended from 
Aaron by birth, and the victims, the place and the cermon- 
ies were pointed out by command of God; the sacrifice of 
the new law from Christ to the end of the world, established 
by our Lord himself, where the priests descend from Christ 
through the Apostles by ordination, and the Victim is him- 
self, first offered at the last supper, his Body and Blood shed 
on Calvary's cross for our redemption and for that of the 
whole human race, and the sacrifices of the Patriarchs and 
of the law of Moses were but figures and shadows ordained 
by God to prepare the world for the sacrifice of Calvary and 
of the Mass. 

The sacrifices of the old Law were of three kinds, victims, 
immolations and libations ; the victims or hosts were sacrifi- 
ces in which animals chosen by God were offered as cows, 
goats, calves, pigeons, swallows and turtle-doves ; they were 
sacrificed by being killed and sometimes burned. Immola- 
tions were sacrifices of things without life, as first fruits of the 
earth, bread, salt, and incense ; they were burnecl,cut to pieces, 
or changed so as to be useless for man. Libations were sacri- 
fices of liquors, as water, oil, &c. , and they were poured out, 
or destroyed before the Lord. These sacrifices were again 
of three kinds ; the hollocaust, thus called because the whole 
was consumed with fire ; the sacrifice for sin, thus called 
because it was offered for sin, being partly burned and the 
rest eaten by the priests ; the peace offerings, thus called for 
they were given to thank God for passed benefits and to ask 
peace in the future , a part was burned in the Tabernacle, 
a part was eaten by the priests and the third portion fell to 
the use of the giver. 

Such were the sacifices of the old Law. In the new, there 
is one sacrifice, foreshown and prefigured by all these sacrifi- 
ces, rites, ceremonies, libations and offerings of the oil Law, 
and that is the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary and on our Altar. 
Sacrificed on Calvary, it is called the bloody sacrifice, sac- 
rificed on our altar it is called the unbloody sacrifice ; offer- 
ed on the cross it is the sacrifice of redemption, for there he 
redeemed us ; offered on our altars it is the sacrifice of ap- 
plication, for there the merits of Christ are applied to our 
souls. But there is but one Victim, one sacrifice. There is 
one and the same Host now offered by the ministery of the 



148 CHRIST SACRIFICED. 

priest, the same as the one then offered on the cross, only 
there is a different way of sacrifice. 1 

Jesus Christ offered a real sacrifice at the last supper, when 
he instituted the blessed Eucharist and said, " Do this in 
commemoration of me.'' 2 From what we have said, two 
things are necessary for the Eucharistic sacrifice , the real 
presence of Christ and the remembrance of his death. The 
real presence of Christ in the* Eucharist was proved in Chap- 
ter Y. The remembrance of his death is shown in the many 
rites and ceremonies, and the separation of the Body and 
Blood ; for where the Blood is taken away from the body no 
one can live, but here there is no real death although the Body 
is on the altar and the Blood is in the chalice, for Christ is now 
glorified and can die no more, but his death is figured in a 
mystic manner by the separation of the Body and the Blood. 

Christ instituted the last supper after eating the pascal 
lamb so that to the eating of the jDascal lamb might succeed 
the eating of his body. And as the pascal lamb was a true 
sacrifice, so also the last supper, must be a true sacrifice. At 
that time Christ made a new alliance, a New Testament, like 
the Old, and like the Old it should be sanctioned by sacrifice 
and by blood. For Moses sprinkling the blood of the calves 
on the people, said: "this is the blood of the covenent which 
the Lord hath made with you." 3 In the same way the Lord 
alludes to the words and uses nearly the same words in es- 
tablishing the new Covenent his Xew Testament saying, li this 
is my blood of the Xew Testament." 4 As Moses spoke of 
blood offered in sacrifice, therefore Christ also speaks of 
blood offered in sacrifice, of himself at the last supper. 

When at Antioc. the Apostles and Diciples gathered; "•And 
as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting " 5 the Holy 
Ghost spoke to them. Ministering in Greek signfies offering 
sacrifice, according to the most learned writers, 6 telling us 
that sacrifice was offered by the Apostles. 

St. Paul to turn the early christians from Idolatry says 
" are not they that eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar 1 
But the things which the heathens sacrifice, they 

1. Counsel of Trent, Ses. XXII. c. 11. 

2. Luke XXII. 19. 

3. Exod. 

4. Math. xxvi. 23. 

5. Acts. xlii. 2. 

«k Erasmus Edit. Lyons, T. vi, Cor. aLapid. 



BIBLE TESTIMONY. 149 

sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that 
you should be made partakers with devils. You cannot 
drink the chalice of the Lord and the chalice of devils. You 
cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord and the table of 
devils." 1 The Apostle here compares the sacrifices offered to 
God and those offered to devils, the chalice of the Lord 
and that of the devils, the altar of God and that of idols. 
The early christians then had sacrifices. Again he says "We 
have an altar where of they that have no power to eat who 
serve the Tabernacle.' 12 The early christians then had an 
altar different from that of the temple, but where there is an 
altar there is sacrifice, for it is an altar because sacrifice is 
offered on it. 

The Old Testament only confirms what we find in the New. 
It speaks of the sacrifice of bread and wine offered by*Mel 
chisadech king of Salem, priest of the Most High, and who all 
the Fathers agree in saying was a figure of the priests of the 
New Testament, of our holy church, offering the sacrifice of 
the Son of God in the species of Bread and wine. We know 
the celebrated prophesy of Malachy against the Jews : " I have 
no pleasure in you saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will not 
receive a gift of your hands. For from the rising of the 
sun even to the going down, my name is great among the 
gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there 
is offered to my name a clean oblation, for my name is 
great among the gentiles saith the Lord of Hosts.'' 3 Such 
are the words of the inspired writer, telling when the sacri- 
fices of the temple would cease and the knowledge of God 
would spread among the gentiles, and in every place the 
clean oblation of the Mass would be offered to the Lord. 
"In that day there shall be an altar of the Lord in the midst 
of the land of Egypt ;" 4 and speaking of the nations he says 
"I will take of them to be priests and levites saith the Lord " 5 
This could not be meant of the altar of the temple, for the 
Jews had no altar till they came into the desert out of the 
land of Egypt, long before the days of the prophet ; this 
could not relate to the altar or sacrifices of the Jews, for they 

1. 1 Cor. x. 18.21. 

2. Heb. xiii, 10. 

3. Malach, i. 10 11. 

4. Isias, xixr. 19. 

5. Isias, lxvi. 21 



150 VOICES OF EARLY AGES. 

were commanded under the severest penalties to sacrifice only 
in the holy place, in the tabernacle and in the temple appointed 
by the Lord ; this taking of priests could not signify the 
priests of the Old Law, for they were of the tribe of Levi 
and of the house of Aaron ; it tells of the sacrifice of the priest- 
hood, of the offering of the unbloody sacrifice among the gen- 
tile nations converted by the preaching of the gospel. No 
one will say that it is the sacrifice offered to the false gods of 
the gentiles, for the Lord calls it 4 ' the clean sacrifice," and who 
would think for a moment that the Lord himself would choose 
the priests of the idol worshipers. Neither could it be a 
spiritual sacrifice as prayers and pious aspirations or patient 
sufferings for these were from the beginning of the world, 
and God always received them. What then is meant by these 
prophecies but the sacrifice of the Mass, offered to God on every 
altar, from the rising to the setting of the sun, from one end to 
the other of the world ? In every city, and hamlet, and vil- 
lage, and valley rise httle temples where God loves to dwell , 
this is the sacrifice, the clean oblation seen by prophetic eye 
through the mists of ages before the time of Christ. 

Such is the voice of all monuments of antiquity, of all 
rituals of ancient churches, of all books of prayers, of those 
nations and those people who separated from the church from 
to-day up to the time of the Apostles, with one voice they cry 
out of the unbloody sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist. The 
Fathers of the church, these great minds who gathered up the 
traditions of early days, all speak of the sacrifice of the Mass I 
they sj)eak of it as a sacrifice, the Host, the oblation, the Vic- 
tim ; they use the words, to offer, to sacrifice ; they speak of 
priests and of altars ; they compare it with that of Melchisa- 
dech, of the pascal lamb and say it is the. sacrifice spoken of 
by the prophet Malachy ; they prove that the Mass is the 
fulfilment of all these figures, rites and ceremonies, grand 
and majestic of the Jewish tabernacle and of Solomon s temple, 
that all these figures are fulfilled in the Mass. 

St. Justin says: " In every place sacrifice is offered ; the 
bread of the Eucharist and the cup of the Eucharist as Ma- 
lachy foretold.' 1 

St. Ireneus, writes: "He who among creatures is bread, took 

1. In Dialog. Cum. Tryphon. Judeo. 



THE ESSENTIAL PAETS. 151 

it saying, ' This is my Body ' and the chalice in the same 

way His Blood." 1 

St. Augustine S23eaking of his dead mother says: " She de- 
sired to be remembered at the altar, no day passing without 
it, where the holy Victim is dispensed, because the chirograph 
which was against us was taken away." 2 

But why multiply authorities % All writers of every age 
speaking upon religious subjects, tell of the sacrifice of the 
Mass, tell us of the Faith that never changed. For if it had 
changed, would we not know the time and year % Could such 
a new doctrine begin without a revolution "? Could any power 
on earth force people to believe such a thing if not taught by 
Christ and the Apostles, considering how people hold to old 
traditions and customs'? 

Thus Christ satisfied by the sacrifice of the Cross in paying 
the price, but that price is applied to our souls by the sacri- 
fice of the Mass. The sacrifice of the Cross was to redeem 
mankind, the sacrifice of the Mass is to honor God, and to 
testify his supreme authority over us. The consecration and 
communion are the essential parts of the sacrifice, that is, 
without them there could be no sacrifice; the other parts, as 
prayers, ceremonies, kissings, movements, bows, replies, &c, 
were added by the Apostles and their successors make it 
complete, and to add to the beauty and dignity of the service. 

Compared to the sacrifice of the Cross, it does not differ, 
for one and the same Victim was offered in both. In this di- 
vine sacrifice of the Mass, the same Christ is offered in an un- 
bloody manner, who offered himself in a bloody manner on the 
Cross; " One and the same Host now offered by the ministery 
of the priest, who offered himself on the Cross, only there is 
a different way of sacrificing." 3 For Christ offered himself 
on the Cross, in the Mass he is offered by the priest; then he 
was mortal, capable of suffering, a bloody offering, here he is 
immortal, incapable of suffering, an unbloody offering ; the 
sacrifice of Calvary did not commemorate any other, the Mass 
is a rememberance of the Cross ; on Calvary the sacrifice was 
to pay the price of salvation, on the altar it is applied to our 
souls ; that was offered once only, the Mass every day, and in 

1. Adv., Haer, 14 c. 32. 

2. Confes. L. ix., c. 13. 

3- Council of Trent, Ses. xxii* c. II, 



152 OALVAEY AND THE OEOSS. 

every place to the end of the world. Thus they differ with 
regard to place, circumstance and manner. 1 

Thus the sacrifice of the Cross and of the Mass are the 
same in some respects and not the same in others. The 
Cross was the fulfillment of all these bloody sacrifices of the 
la'w of Moses ; the Mass is the fulfillment of all these cere- 
monies of the tabernacle and of the temple. The first Mass 
said was that offered by our Lord himself at the last supper. 
He sent his disciples to prepare the place of that, the first of 
the sacrifices of the New Testament ; they prepared that 
upper chamber, large and beantiful as tradition tells us, where 
having fulfilled the ceremonies of the law of Moses, for he 
came to fulfill and to complete these signs and ceremo- 
nies of the law given by God on Sinai's top, where, with all 
the ceremonies of eating the pascal lamb, that figure of him- 
self, he changed the bread and wine into His Body and His 
Blood. At that moment the Old Testament was of the passed 
and the New began ; the law of the great lawgiver of the 
Israelites had passed away, and the law of the great lawgiver 
of the Christians began. The sacrifices of the temple were 
received no more by God, the sacrifice of the Mass was to 
take their place. The Old Testament was gone, the New Tes- 
tament was there. The religion of truth, confined to the 
Jewish nation was given to the Gentiles, Christ was to die on 
the morrow and before his death he prepared the Mass as an 
everlasting remembrance of himself, that all nations and all 
people might keep him before their eyes till the day of doom, 
till the Angel's trumpet calls the dead to judgment. 

We are to see then the Mass ; we are to see the meaning of 
all these signs and ceremonies; we are to see the truths hidden 
in these things, added by the Apostles and their successors to 
add to the dignity of the sacrifice, to excite devotion in the 
people, to raise their hearts to heavenly things, and to keep 
before the eyes of all generations, the life, sufferings and 
death of the Son of God. 

When said by a single priest, in a low tone of voice, it is 
called a L»ow Mass. When sung by a priest alone, it is called 
a Sung Mass. When sung by a priest with a deacon and sub 
deacon it is called a solemn High Mass. When sung by a 
bishop assisted by all his ministers, it is called a Pontificial 

1. Schouppe, Theo., Dogmat., De Euchar, 302. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OF MASS. 153 

High Mass. But these differ one from the other in having 
more ceremonies and solemnities. At the first Mass, at the 
last supper, there were few ceremonies, our Lord celebrating 
in all the simplicity of the other acts of his life ; he was God 
and did not need external ceremonies, and signs, and fio-ures 
to aid him, or to excite his devotion like us ; he said that 
first Mass with the ceremonies of the pascal lamb as a pre- 
paration, while we have many things before we come to the 
moment of the sacrifice. The consecration and the commu- 
nion are the necessary parts of the Mass, 1 at any time these 
will make a Mass, the other things are to beautify that solemn 
action, and thus we read only of the consecration and of the 
communion at the last supper. 

Christ is gone but before he went he left others, his Apos- 
tles and their successors, to continue his work, to celebrate 
and consecrate by his power and by his authority. By the 
words : " Do this in commemoration of me, " he left that 
power to his followers, and to all who were to descend from 
them by the spiritual generation of ordination to the end of 
time. 

Those who have the power of saying Mass are the priests 
and bishops ; those below the priests can only minister to the 
priests and bishops, or figure or symbolize something relating 
to the sacrifice. No one can go higher than the bishop, the 
others, as archbishops, primates cardinals and the Pope him- 
self are dignitaries of the church, and are thus by reason of 
the rule and authority they have over souls. The one who 
says Mass is called the celebrant whether he be a bishop or a 
priest; such he will be called in the following pages. St. 
Paul says, that " the priest is another Christ," that is he 
figures Christ, and by his power performs these wonders and 
continues the work of Christ and figures him in the Mass. 
The bishop or priest, having said Matins and Lauds, enters the 
sacresty to prepare for Mass. The bishop says the five Psalms 
the priest is advised to say them. Having finished the pray- 
ers, the celebrant first washes his hands, signifying the purity 
of soul which he should have in celebrating the holy myste- 
ries. That custom comes to us from the Old Testament, for 
the priests before taking part in the sacrifices of the taber- 

1. Card. Bellar De Missa, L. i , c. 27, 
Card, De Euchar. Disp. 19, s. 5. 



154 SPRINKLING HOLY WATER. 

nacle washed their hands and feet in the laver before the door, 
with " the mirrors of the women that watched at the door 
of the tabernacle." 1 Solomon also made a great brazen sea at 
the entrance of the temple, where the priests and the Levites 
washed before entering the temple. 2 That washing of the 
hands signified the clean hands and the pure heart we should 
have when offering so holy a "Victim. 

The celebrant having put on the vestments, as given in the 
preceding chapter, before taking the chasuble, blesses the 
holy water, according to orders of Pope Alexander I. He 
then sprinkles the altar, himself, the servers of Mass, the 
clergy in the choir and the people, at the same time intoning 
and the choir continuing the words : ' ' Thou shalt sprinkle 
me with hyssop, and I shall be cleaned, thou shalt wash me 
and I will be made whiter than snow 3 ." He then recites the 
Psalm: " Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great 
mercy, 4 " &c. The meaning of the sprinkling of holy water 
appears from the words of Pope Alexander : " We bless the 
people with holy water sprinkled with salt, that all sprinkled 
with that water may be purified and sanctified," for "If the 
blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer being 
sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled to the cleaning of the 
flesh 5 ," that is from venal sin, how much more, holy water, 
mixed with salt and blessed with the prayers of the church, 
will clean the people from sin and temptation in the church. 
And if the bitter waters of Jerico were healed by the salt 
thrown in them by the Prophet Elisenus, 6 how much more 
should the sprinkling of salt in the water by the priest, with 
the prayers of the church, chase away all evil spirits, sanctify 
the people, chase away evil thoughts, destroy the influence of 
demons, and defend those in the church from sin. Israel's 
inspired Prophet saw these wonders worked by water when 
he cried out, "I will pour upon you clean water, and you 
shall be cleansed from all fllthiness 7 ." The custom of wash- 
ing and sprinkling with water was in use at the time of Moses, 
for the one who touched a dead body: " he shall wash both 

1. Exod. XXX, 19, and XXXVIII, 18. 5. Heb. IX. 13. 

2. Ill Kings,VII. 23. 6. iv. Kings, ii, 21-22. 

3. Psalm L. 7. 7. Ezekel, xxxvi-25, 
i. Psalm 1. 



HOLY WATER AMONG JEWS. 155 

himself and his garments." 1 Again, "he that touches the 
corpse of a man shall be sprinkled with water on the third 
day.'' 2 Because he was not sprinkled with water of expiation 
he shall be unclean." 3 Of the Levites the Lord said : " Let 
them be sprinkled with the water of purification." 4 And we 
read that Christ washed his disciples' feet at the last supper. 
From this it appears that sprinkling with water, as a sign of 
cleaning and purifying from sin, was instituted by God him- 
self in the ceremonies of the tabernacle. This ceremony in 
the church is to remind the people of the vows they took at 
their baptism, to renounce the works of darkness and to shun 
all sin. All things we bless, we sprinkle with holy water, to 
sanctify and bless them for the service of the Lord. As the 
unclean were not allowed to enter the tabernacle in the times 
of the law of Moses until they had washed themselves with 
water, lest the people should omit that holy duty and not take 
the water at the door, we sprinkle them in the church, that 
they receiving it with faith and sorrow for sin, their little 
faults may be washed away. During the Pascal time, when 
the Church celebrates the mysteries of the Savior's resurection, 
the celebrant says: "I saw water 5 , &c; taken from the vision 
of the Prophet Ezechial, who saw the city of God built upon 
the mountain, that is the church of God, that city built upon 
the mountain which cannot be hid 6 . In that city a temple, 
that is the body of Christ, of that body he says: "Destroy 
this temple and in three days I will raise it up 7 " The waters 
coming from the side of the temple, as seen by the prophet, 
prefigured the waters of baptism coming forth from the side 
of the dead Christ, when the soldier opened his side with 
a spear. When blessing the holy water, the celebrant 
sprinkles it with salt that comes from the miracle of the 
Prophet Eliseus, Eiiseus who healed the waters of Jerico by 
sprinkling them with salt 9 . Salt signifies wisdom, and that 
the people of the church may receive wisdom and knowledge 
and be: " the salt of the earth 10 . They are sprinkled with 

1. Numb, xix., 19. 5. Ezech,xlvii, 1. 9. iv. Kings ii, 20-21 

2, Numb, xix, 11-12, 6. Math, v. 10. Math, v., 13. 
3- Numb, xix, 13. 7, John ii, 19. 

4. Numb, viii, 7. 8. John, xix, 34. 



158 ENTERING THE SANCTUARY. 

water in which salt has been mixed. Salt preserves from cor- 
ruption, and thus it signifies that the people may be kept 
from the corruption of sin. The celebrant sprinkles salt 
over the water three times with the sign of the cross, saying: 
" In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy 
Ghost. Amen 1 ." To tell that all graces and blessings come 
from the cross of Christ, and to teach of the mystery of 
the Holy Trinity. Then the water is placed at the door 
of the church, so that the people can take it, and bless 
themselves on entering. 

Then the celebrant putting on the chausable, and all bow- 
ing to the image of the Crucified, they enter the sanctuary to 
begin the Mass. First come the little boys, then the clergy, 
then the ministers and lastly the celebrant clothed in all the 
beauties of his sacred vestments. Coming into the sanctuary, 
the first or inferior clergy recall to our minds the patriarchs 
and prophets of old, who came into the world to prejDare the 
way for Christ 2 ; then the celebrant, clothed in all the beauties 
of the sacred vestments, figure Him the Expected of the na- 
tions and the desired of the everlasting hills, who in the ful- 
ness of time came to offer the sacrifice of himself on Calvary's 
cross. When the deacon and sub deacon go before the priest, 
they recall theLaw and the Prophesy of the Old Testament 
going before Christ and preparing for His coming. Standing 
ministering to the priest, they represent Moses and Elias 
ministering to Christ on Mount Thabor, in the glories of the 
transfiguration 3 . In all the ceremonies of the Mass the cele- 
brant figures and stands in the place of Christ; standing thus 
between the deacon and subdeacon the celebrant tells us of 
that great celebrant Christ between the Old and New Testa- 
ments, for the deacon typefies the Xew and the subdeacon the 
Old 4 Testaments. All the ministers and servers go before the 
celebrant, to remind us of the disciples sent by Christ into 
the cities of Judea to prepare the way " before his face 5 .'' 
The assistant priest goes last before the celebrant to bring 
to our mind John the Baptist who last of all came to prepare 
the way before the Lord and make straight his paths by 

1. Math, xxviii, 19. 

2. M. Olier Les Cer de la Bas. Mas. 

3. Math.xvii,3. 

4. Durand, L. iv. c, vi. n, 3, 

5. Luke* x, 1. 



A PEOCESSIOW. 157 

preaching penance. 1 The subdeacon holds the book of the 
Gospels closed while the bishop says the "Confeteor," be- 
cause the subdeacon represents the Old Testament in which, 
the mysteries, the wonders and the law of the New Testa- 
ment was hidden in figures. 

You often see a process sion in the church, and you wish to 
know the meaning of that ceremony. When the Pope cele- 
brates, and sometimes when the bishop is to officiate, they all 
go in a procession to the altar, signifying that in this world 
we are in procession to our home in heaven, like the Isreal- 
ites journeying to the promised land; for as the people of 
God, by the hand of Moses, was saved from Pharao, thus, the 
Christians are saved from the devil by the hand of Jesus. 2 
And, as in the journeys of the desert, the tables of the law 
were carried by the people in the hands of Moses 3 , thus, in 
the procession, the Book of the Gospels is carried to the altar 
in the hands of the subdeacon. As the pillar of fire went be- 
fore the people of God in the desert 4 , thus, the lighted candles 
go before the people in the procession. With the Israelites 
went Aaron the High Priest of the Lord, with us goes the 
Pope the Yichar of Christ, or the bishop figuring our Lord. 
With them Moses with his rod, with us the bishop with his 
pastoral staff, with them the sound of trumpets, with us the 
ringing of bells. The image of Christ nailed to the cross 
goes before all between the two candles, for he is our leader, 
and to tell that we follow him in every thing, that his ex- 
ample is our guide even to the bitterness of the crucifixion ; 
the image of the Crucified goes before all for he is the leader 
of all. During the procession the clergy go with cinctures 
around their waists and lighted candles in their hands, ac 
cording to the words of our Lord: "Let your loins be girt 
and lamps burning in your hands 5 ." In the first ages of the 
church they had a solemn procession each Sunday in remem- 
brance of the resurection, and on Thursday to recall the as- 
sension, but political difficulties coming on, the solemnities 
of the church being multiplied, that of Thursday ceased; 
now where all the ceremonies can be carried out, we have a 



1. Mark i. 3, 4. 

2. S. Chrystorr. 

3- Exod. XXXII, 15, 

4. Exod. XIII, 21, 

5. Luke XII, 35. 



158 THE BEGFNTNG OF MASS. 

procession each Sunday in the church to the altar, by order 
of Pope Agapitum. 

THE MASS. 

Coming to the foot of the altar all make a genenection as 
an act of adoration and of worship given to the Son of God. 
If it be Low Mass, or said in a simple manner, the celebrant 
then fixes the chalice which he carries in his hand, and opens 
the book at the place where the services begin. If a solemn 
High Mass, all has been prepared, and the book opened, and 
the chalice prepared on the side table. Having all made a 
genenection again at the foot of the altar, in imitation of him 
"who bowed the the heavens and came down 1 ," the cele- 
brant begins with the sign of the cross : 

In the name of the Father And of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. 
Amen. 

For we begin all things with the sign of salvation and in 
the name, that is, by the power of the Holy Trinity. 

By order of Pope Celestinus he then says the following 
Psalm, the server of the Mass replying : 

I will go to the altar of God. 
To God who rejoiceth my youth. 

Psalm XLII. 

Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that 
is not holy, deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. 

For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why 
do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? 

Send forth thy light and thy truth; they have conducted me, and 
brought me unto th3 r holy hill, and into thy holy tabernacles. 

And I will go in to the altar of God; to God who giveth joy to my 
youth. 

To thee, O God, my God I will give praise upon the harp; why art 
thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? 

Hope in the Lord, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation 
of my countenance and my God. 

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. As 
it was in the beginning and is now and ever will be. 

I will go to the alter of God. 

To God who rejoiceth my youth. 

The Masses for the dead as it is a time of sorrow, and in 
times of public penance as from Passion Sunday to the end 
of Holy Week, this Psalm is not said. After repeating the 

1. Psalm XVII, 10. 




THE CATHEDRAL, F^EIBURQi 



THE CONMTEOR. 159 

last response after the " Glory " the celebrant making the 
sign of the cross on himself says : 

Our aid is in the name of the Lord. 

Who made heaven and earth. 

Then bowing deeply down he says : 

I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to 
blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to 
ihe holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul and to all the saints 
(and to you brothers 1 ) because I have sinned most exceed- 
ingly in thought, word and deed (striking his breast three times) 
through my fault, through my fault through my most exceedingly 
great fault. Therefore I beseach the blessed Mary, ever Virgin 
blessed Michael the Archangel, the blessed John the Baptist, the holy 
Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul and all the saints to pray to the Lord 
our God for me. 

The celebrant confessed his sins following the words of 
the Holy Spirit: "The just is first accuser of himself, 2 " He 
accuses himself of his sins for: "All have sinned and do 
need the glory of God. 3 " He does not accuse himself of 
any particular sin, lest he might scandalize others and lead 
them to commit evil, and because this is not a sacramental 
confession, where the sins must be told according to the 
kind and the number 4 , but a general admitting of himself to 
be a sinner. Standing thus at the foot of the altar, striking 
his breast the celebrant is like the publican, praised by our 
Lord, who stood in the temple, afar off striking his breast 
saying • " O God, be merciful to me a sinner. 5 " Striking his 
breast he says : " because I have sinned most exceedingly in 
thought, word and deed," for there are three things in that 
striking of the breast ; the stroke, the sound and the touch, 
for there are three things necessary for the forgiveness of sin, 
sorrow in the heart's confession by the mouth and reperation 
for the deed. 6 The one who serves Mass, or the deacon and 
subdeacon, who have been answering the celebrant from the 
beginning turn to him and says : 

May the Lord have mercy on you, and forgive you your sins, and 
bring you into everlasting life. 

The celebrant replies : Amen. 

1. If with a deacon and subdeacon, 5, Luke XVIII, 13, 

2. Prov,XVIII, 17. 6. Duratid Rationale, Div« L. IV, C, 

3. Rom III, 33, VII, n, 3. 
4- Concil Trid S. XIV. C, 5. 



160 ASCENDING TO THE ALTAR. 

The server at a Low, or the deacon and subdeacon at a 
High Mass, bowing down like the celebrant say the " Conf e 
fceor " in the same words except that in place of " and to 
your Brothers," they say, "and to you Father." At the 
end the celebrant says: 

May the Lord have mercy on you, and forgive you your sins, and 
bring you into everlasting life. 

They reply Amen. 

All this is in imitation of the Savior, who coming into this 
world and beginning his life to end it by being sacrificed 
says: "I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth 1 ;" following him who took our sins and carried them 
even to the great sacrifice of the cross ; who bowed himself 
in the garden when beginning that sacrifice of Calvary. 

When a bishop celebrates, the subdeacon puts the manuple 
on his arm at the moment, when the bishop says: "May the 
Lordhave mercy," &c, signifying, that when he is to ascend the 
altar of God, his hands are tied from earthly thiugs. At all 
times when not using them the celebrant's hands are joined 
together, to tell of the devotion of soul in his heart, or tell- 
ing us of the two natures of Christ joined together in one 
Person. Going up to the altar as Isaac went up the moun- 
tain 2 , going up the steps as Christ went up Calvary, the cele- 
brant says: 

Take away from us, we beseech thee, O Lord, our sins, that with 
pure minds we may be worthy to enter the Holy of Holies. Through 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

This is the true Holy of Holies figured by that of the tab 
ernacle and of the temple of old 3 . Here is offered the true 
sacrifice figured by the law of Moses 4 . Here the true Victim 
is sacrificed, shadowed and typefied by the victims of the 
religion of the ancient Israelites. Here are carried out the 
grand, striking and magnificent ceremonies foretold by the 
ceremonies laid down by God in the desert. Here is immo- 
lated "the lamb which was slain from the beginning of the 
world. 5 " Thus the celebrant prays that his sins may be taken 
away, and that he may be worthy of entering the true Holy 

1. Math. Xr, 25. 

2. Gen. XXIL 6. 

3. Exod. XXVI. 

4. Levitt. XXII. 

5. Apoc XI 11, 8, 



THE INCENSE. 161 



of Holies, more worthy than the high priest of the old law, 
who once each year went into the Holy of Holies of the 
tabernacle of Moses and of the temple of Solomon. 1 

Laying his closed fingers on the altar, so that the ends of 
his smallest fingers touch the altar on the edge the celebrant 
says : 

We pray thee, O Lord, by the merits of thy saints, whose relics are 
here present, and of all thy saints, that thou wouldst be indulgent to 
all my sins. 

This is in reference to the relics of the saints placed in the 
little tomb of the altar stone. As the altar signifies Christ 
the celebrant kisses it signifying the love he bears for our 
Savior, according to the words of the Holy Ghost: ' ' Let 
him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth 2 ." Again the altar 
typefies the Church of Christ made up of all the faithful as 
the Lord says : " If thou make an altar of stone unto me 
thou shalt not build it of hewn stone, 3 " but of the hearts of 
the people, and the celebrant kissing the altar signifies by 
that the love burning in his heart for the people making up 
the church of Christ. These are the meanings of kissing 
the alter during the ceremonies of the church. 

Incense. 

The celebrant now puts incense into the thurible and 
blesses it. He then incenses the cross three times, making 
a genuflection before and after. Then the relics of the saints 
on each side of the tabernacle, the altar three times on the 
epistle side, twice at the end, three times coming back, a 
geneflection in the middle, and three times over the altar 
table, twice at the end and three times coming back the same 
as on the other side. All this is to make our church like 
that sanctuary seen by the beloved Apostle St. John, when 
" another Angel came and stood before the altar having a 
golden censor, and there was given him much incense, that 
he should offer of the prayers of all the saints upon the 
golden altar which is before the throne of God. And the 
smoke of the incense of the prayers, of all the saints assend- 
ed up before God from the hand of the Angel. 4 " Thus in- 
cense typefies the prayers of the Christians ascending be- 
fore God, that Angel is Christ our Lord, the mediator be- 
tween us and his Father who offers our prayer before the 

1, Lexit XVI, 12. 3. Exod. XX, 25. 

2. Cant of Cant, 1, 1. 4. Apoc. VIII, 3, 4. 



182 THE INTROIT. 

almighty's throne, the censor is the heart of man upright 
before God, that altar his church, that fire charity, that in- 
cense the prayers of the people ascending up to heaven ac- 
cording to the Royal Prophet. 

Let my prayer be directed O Lord, as incense in my sight; the 
lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. 

Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my 
lips. 

Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins. 

Handing the thurible to the deacon, the celebrant says : 

May the Lord light in us the fire of his love, and the flame of his 
everlasting charity. 

These are the words recited by the celebrant whilst in- 
censing the altar. Incense was one of the gifts offered to 
the new born Savior by the wise men of the East 1 ; it is then 
an offering given only to the Divinity. The altar is incensed 
because it represents Christ. The relics of the saints are 
incensed because they once received the Body and Blood of 
Christ while living. The celebrant is incensed for he takes 
the place of our Lord, and offers the holy sacrifice in his 
name and by his power. The ministers are incensed because 
they recall Him who came in the form of a slave and was 
found as a man. The people are incensed to tell that they 
are the temples of the Holy Ghost. Things are incensed to 
tell that they have some relation to God or to Christ. 
The Ixteoit. 
The celebrant then turns to the book and reads the first 
part of the Mass called the Introit, from the Latin word enter, 
because of the custom of the choir singing it while the cele- 
brant is entering the sanctuary. It is taken from the Old 
Testament with the exception of Christmas, Pentecaust, the 
Peas*; of St. Peter and a few others. It recalls the desires 
aud prayers of the holy ones of the Old Testament looking 
for the coming of the Saviour. Sung by the choir, in cathe- 
drals and large churches, it reminds us of the saints of the 
old Law singing the praises of God, and crying out : " Send 
forth, O Lord, the Lamb the ruler of the earth 2 ." The In- 
troit is taken nearly always from the Old Testament. 
The Verse. 
Following the Introit are a few lines called the Terse, taken 
generally from the Psalms. At the end the celebrant says : 

1, Math. II, U. 2. I.ais XVI, 1 



BEGINNING MASS. 163 

" Glory be to the Father," etc., and then repeats the In- 
troit as far as the Verse. 

As the Introit signifies the desires of the great ones of old 
for the coming of the Lord, and as He came to glorify the 
Godhead by the mystery of the Incarnation, so the beginning 
of Mass ends with the glory of the Trinity. The Introit is 
repeated to show that as the patriarchs and prophets and the 
Great ones of olden times desired His coming in the mystery 
of the Incarnation, so we desire his coming in the mystery of 
the Mass. 

How beautiful sounds the Introit in the Great Cathe- 
drals and Churches, where our holy religion is carried out in 
all its forms and ceremonies. From the moment the cele- 
brant enters the sanctuary, the choir begins the chanting of 
the Introit, singing thosa words sounding so sweet in the 
ears of those who understand the Latin tongue. In the 
Plain or Gregorian chant, the music of our Church, the 
words of the Introit appear to take a hold so strong, appear 
to pierce so deep as to move our inmost natnre and write 
there meaning in our heart, preparing us for the great mys- 
tery of the coming of our Lord. Then follows the verse, 
generally taken from the Psalms. Then the " Glory be to 
the Father," etc., because all the services are for the glory 
of the Trinity. The celebrant then repeats the Introit to 
signify the two comings of our Lord. At the begining of 
the Introit the celebrant makes the sign of the cross on him- 
self, for he is going to renew in the Mass, in a mystic man- 
ner, the sacrifice of the cross ; thus, as all our religion centers 
around the mystery of the Redemption, the celebrant be- 
gins the Mass by the sign of our salvation — the sign of the 
cross, to tell by this that the Mass is a renewal of the mystery 
of the death of Our Lord upon the cross. 

This part of the Mass contains three things, the Introit, 
the Verse, and the Glory, for there are three kinds of persons 
of the Jewish people who prefigured and personified Christ ; 
the patriarchs, and to them relates the Introit ; the prophets, 
^nd to them relates the Verse ; the Apostles, and to them 
relates the Glory. To the patriarchs belongs the Introit, 
for as it begins the Mass, so they began to receive the reve- 



164 

lation relating to our holy mysteries. To the prophets 
belongs the Verse, for they saw in a clearer manner the 
times when the Lord would fulfill the things revealed to 
them. To tne apostles belongs the Glory, 1 for to them was 
revealed the mystery of the Trinity, by the " Going forth 
therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. 2 

We will give the Mass of Easter as sj)ecimen of the ser- 
vices of the Mass 

Making the sign of the cross on himself, for we begin 
everything with the sign of salvation, the celebrant at the 
epistle side of the altar begins. 

tsTTRorr. I rose up and am still with thee. Allelulia; thou hast 
placed upon me thy hand, alleluia ; thy wisdom has become wonder- 
ful, alleluia. 

Verse. O Lord thou hast proved me and hast known me, thou hast 
known my sitting down and my rising up. 

Glory. Glory be to the Father and 10 the Son and to the Holy 
Ghost. As it was in the beginning and is now and will be forever. 

The celebrant then goes to the middle of the altar, and 
standing with his back to the people says, the server an- 
swering : 

Lord have mercy on us. 

Loi d have mercy on us. 

Lord have mercy on us. 

Christ have mercy on us. 

Christ have mercy o.: us. 

Christ have mercy on us. 

Lord have mercy on us. 

Lord have mercy on us. 

Lord hav. mercy en us. 

The first three relates to the Father, the second three to 
Christ the Son, and the last three to the Holy Ghost. It is 
said in a different way to the Son, using His name as man 
Christ, for he is different from the other Persons of the Holy 
Trinity, in having a human nature and being man, and 
therefore we call on him for mercy by the name by which he 
is known as man. 

The celebrant calls nine times for mercy, for himself and 
for the people, that their sins may be wiped out, and that 

1 Durand, L. IV., c. V., n. 1. 2 Matt. XXVIII. 19. 



CEREMONIES OF THE " GLORIA." 165 

they may during the Mass praise the Lord, like the nine 
choirs of angels. He calls nine times for mercy, for there 
are nine kinds of sins committed by us which he asks God to 
forgive, original, venial and mortal ; sins of thought, word 
and deed ; sins of malice, weakness and of ignorance ; these 
are the nine kinds of sin committed by men. But there 
are no sins without knowledge of the mind, and the exercise 
of free will, and therefore where there is no knowledge or 
free will there is no sin. 

The Angels' Song of Glory. 

Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good 
will. We praise thee. We bless thee. We adore thee. We glorify 
thee. We give thee thanks for thy ^reat glory. Lord God, Heavenly 
King, God Mmighty Father. Lord, only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 
Lord God, Lamb of God. Son of the Fathei, Thou who takest away 
the sins of the world have mercy on us. Thou who taketh away the 
sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou who sitteth at the right 
hand of the Father, have mercy onus. Because thou alone art holy. 
Thou alone art Lord. Thou alone art Jesus Christ, the most high. 
With the Holy Ghost in the glory of the Father. Amen. 

The first part of that beautiful hymn was sung by Angels, 
first heard among the hills and valleys of Judea, when the 
Angelic choir came to tell the shepherds of the birth of the 
Saviour God in Bethlehem ; the rest was added by St. Tel- 
esphore, or by one of the greatest saints of old whose name 
is lost. 1 It was first sung at the Christmas Mass, then at 
Easter, 2 till at length it became customary at all the Masses, 
except those of penance and for the dead. 3 Now at a Low 
Mass the celebrant recites all, and at a High he sings the 
first four words, the choir continuing, while the celebrant 
sits down after reciting it entirely and blessing himself at 
the end. The celebrant says that Angelic Hymn, for he 
stands in the place of him who is the Angel of the great 
counsel, for he announces to the people the tidings of great 
joy, that is the Gospel, as the Angel said : "For behold I 
bring you tidings of great joy," 4 the celebrant tells of sin 
wiped out, heaven opened, the serpent conquered, and man 
restored to his first inheritance beyond the skies. Standing 
before the altar in silence, he intones or recites that hymn as 

1 Its authorship is disputed. 2 Pope Symacus. 

3 Pope Benedict,rXIV. De Sacrif. Mis. LIICIV. 13, 14. 4 Luke, II., 10. 



166 THE 

a preparation for the coming of our Lord in the Mass : 
"For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night 
was in the midst of her course, thy almighty word leaped 
down from heaven, from thy royal throne." 3 That is the 
night of sin was upon the world, when the Son of God came 
from his heavenly throne to redeem the world and save man- 
kind. The celebrant stands in the middle of the altar, for 
as the right signifies the Old Testament and the left the 
New, and the celebrant tells us of Jesus Christ, between the 
two Testaments, he stands in the middle , for Christ is : 
"the mediator between God and man." The choir sing the 
Hymn at a High or at a Solemn High Mass. 2 

At the end of the hymn the celebrant kisses the altar, and 
turning toward the people says, the server or choir answer- 
ing : 

The Lord be with you, 

And with thy spirit. 

Such was the salute of the angel to Gideon the Judge of 
Israel, 3 of the prophet to the king, 4 of Asa and of Booz to 
their reapers ; for Booz espousing Ruth was a figure of 
Christ espousing the church. This salute is used in all the 
Masses, except before the prayers of Masses during Lent, 
when we say, "Let us bend our knees," or "Humble your 
heads before the Lord," to tell of humiliation and penance 
for our sins. These services recall the humiliation of Christ 
in his passion, when he told his disciples : " Watch and pray, 
that you enter not into temptation." 5 The bishop celebrat- 
ing says, " Peace be with you," for he signifies more perfectly 
Christ our Lord, who after his resurrection said to his dis- 
ciples, "Peace be to you." 6 The server of Mass replies in 
the name of the people to the, " Lord be with you," and 
" with thy spirit." 

Seven times the celebrant salutes the people with the 
words, "The Lord be with you;" that is, seven times he 
sends the Lord among the people ; and what Lord but the 
Holy Ghost V and why seven times but with his sevenfold 
gifts ? First he sends him at the beginning of Mass, 
secondly before the prayer, thirdly before the Gospel, 

1 Wisdom, XVIII., 14, 15. 2 Concel. Toletan. 3. Judges VI.. 12. 4. Paral. 
5. Ruth II., (5. 6. Luke XL. 



THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 167 

fourthly before the Offertory, fifthly before the Preface, 
sixthly before the last Prayer, and seventhly before the last 
Gospel. The first time he sends the Spirit of wisdom, that 
the people may understand the mystery of the sacrifice ; the 
second the Spirit of knowledge, that they may know God ; 
the third the Spirit of counsel, that they may be able to tell 
the mysteries of religion ; the fourth the Spirit of fortitude, 
that they may resist with force all temptations ; the fifth 
the Spirit of science that they may know the truths of reli- 
gion ; the sixth the spirit of piety, that they may faithfully 
fulfill their duties of religion; the seventh the Spirit of fear, 
that they may always fear God, and commit no sin. These 
are the gifts of the Holy Spirit, seen by the eye of Israel's 
greatest inspired prophet descending on the Son of God; "And 
vhe Spirit of God shall rest on him; the spirit of wisdom and of 
anderstanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of 
Knowledge and of godliness." 1 Thus as every Christian is to be 
like Christ, the celebrant prays that all these gifts of the Holy 
Spirit may descend on the people, as they did on our Saviour 
and that they be like Christ. When saying the " Lord be 
with you," at the beginning, or before the prayer, the cele- 
brant turns towards the people; he does the same before the 
last prayer, because then he is free ; at all other times he 
does not turn, for he is then taken up with the rites of the 
services. 

Thus speaking to the people, the celebrant always turns 
to the right and returns the same way, as: " The angel sat at 
the right hand side of the sepulchre of the risen Lord, 3 as 
Christ was then in the other world beyond this world of 
suffering, beyond the dark valley of dea'-h, what does the 
right hand signify but that other world of glory ? 3 and by 
that the celebrant tells the people to pray for the things of 
the other world. 

When the celebrant says: "Pray brethren," he turns en- 
tirely around, as the psalmist says: "I have gone round, and 
I have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubila- 
tion." 4 

The celebrant then goes to the epistle side of the altar, 
and turning to the book, says at a low or sings at a high 
Mass, the words: 

1. Isaias, XI., 2. 3 S Gregory. 4 Psalm. 



108 WE PRAY THROUGH CHRIST. 

Let us Pray. 

O God who to-day, death having been conquered by thy Sod, hast 
opened to us the gates of eternity ; wilt thou receive our desires which 
go before us, and help tbem with thine aid. Through the same Jesus 
Christ, who liveth and reigntth with thee, in the unity of the Holy 
Ghost forever and ever. Amen. 

At the words : " Let us pray " he turns to the tabernacle 
to bow to Christ ; and to tell that he always desires that we 
pray through Him, the prayer ends with : " through the same 
Jesus Christ " &c. and that is the ending of all the prayers 
of the church, for he is the Mediator between God and man 
and there is no other. He is the Angel seen by St. John, 
standing before the throne of God, offering the prayers of 
the saints. 1 This prayer said at the beginning of the Mass 
is the same as the one said at all the offices erf the Breviary 
on the same day. This prayer with the secret before the 
Preface and the last prayer change each Mass. They are 
always about the same length. The first and last are said in 
a low tone at a Low or sung at a High Mass. They are 
always the same in number, that is when there is one prayer 
at the beginning, there is one secret and one prayer at the 
end. When there are three prayers there are three secrets 
and three prayers at the end. Sometimes the first prayer, of 
which we gave a specimen from the Mass of Easter, is called 
the Collect. That is the name by which it is known in the 
services of the Episcopal church, for their* services are only 
a translation of ours made by a commission in the reign of 
Henry VIII. The prayers are said at the corner of the altar 
like the prayers of the Old Law: " for Aaron shall pray upon 
the horns thereof, 2 " saith the Lord. The prayers are always 
of an uneven number. One tells us of one God, one church 
and one baptism; three teaches us the holy Trinity, and the 
three prayers offered by Christ in the garden, five recalls the 
five wounds in the body of our Lord, seven the seven gifts 
of the Holy Ghost, or the seven sacrirnents which sanctify 
us. As neither God nor the church can be divided so an un- 
even number cannot be divided. 

The prayers are directed to God the Father, or to God the 
Son, but not to God the Holy Ghost, for he is in the world 
as the Paraclete our Comforter, who is to remain with us 
forever. 3 The prayers nearly always end with: •• Through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. " Who is the * i mediator of God 

1. Apoc. viii, 3. 4. 2. Exod XXX, 10 3. John XIV. 16. 



THE EPISTLE. 169 

and man Jesus Christ, 1 " for : "we glory in God through our 
Lord Jesus Christ. 2 " We pray through him to the Father 
for he says "No man cometh to the Father but through 
me, 3 " who said : " Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my 
name that will I do. 4 " When the prayer is directed to God 
the Son, the ending is : " Who liveth and reigneth God for- 
ever and ever. Amen;" or: "Who with thee liveth and reigneth 
forever and ever. Amen." These prayers are beautiful, but 
we cannot give them as there is one for every day in the year. 
They were composed by the saints and approved by the 
church in either of theafrican counsels; some were approved 
by Popes Galesius and Gregory, the one used in the Masses 
for the dead was composed by St. Augustin the ones said at 
the quarter tenses of September by Pope Innocent I. while 
the one beginning with " A cunctis " by Pope Innocent III. 

Standing at the altar in prayer, the celebrant holds his 
hands up, according to the words of the Apostle; "Lift up 
the hands which hang down. 5 " That custom comes from the 
tabernacle and the temple, for when Israel fought against 
Amalec, Moses went up into the mountain : " And when Moses 
lifted up his hands Israel overcame ; but if he let them down 

a little Amalec overcame And Aaron and Hur stayed 

up his hands on both sides. 6 '' Again when Solomen built 
his temple, and when he was dedicating it, he " stood before 
the altar- of the Lord in the sight of the assembly of Israel, 
and spread forth his hands toward heaven. 7 " All this prefig- 
ured Christ's hands spread out upon the cross, when he 
prayed for the sins of the whole world, when he offered 
up the sacrifice of himself on Calvary's cross, and the 
priest offering up the same sacrifice holds his hands as it 
were extended in the form of a cross, but near to his body, 
as he could not hold them spread out all the time. 
The Epistle. 

The prayer having been ended by the server or the choir 
answering "Amen," the celebrant or the subdeacon reads or 
sings the epistle. It is taken generally from the epistles of 
the writers of the New Testiment ; in times of penance 
from the Old Testament. It tells of the preparation for the 
coming of Christ into our hearts, as the Old Testament pre- 

1. I Tim. II.5. 4. John XIV. 13. ' 7. Ill Kings. VIII. 22. 

2. Rom V 11. 5. Heb. XII. 12. 

3. Johu XIX. 6. 6. Exod, XVII. 11. 12. 



170 EPISTLE. 

pared for his coming into the world. It is said on the left side 
of the altar, for that is the side signifiing the Jews, for to them 
Christ first came. The Epistle is always sung by the subdea- 
con at a solemn High Mass, for the subdeacon signifies the 
Old Testiment which prepared the world for the coming of 
Christ. The subdeacon's face is turned toward the altar, for 
as the altar signifies Christ, thus the Old Testament, figured 
by the subdeacon, looked for the coming of the Savior. The 
celebrant reads the Epistle, while the subdeacon is singing it, 
for the celebrant must say all the Mass. The celebrants 
hands are placed on the book, the remains of an old custom 
in the first ages, when the celebrant held the book and read 
aloud the Epistle to the people, so that, the people knowing 
Latin in those days could profit by it. No one bat a sub- 
deacon, or one above him can read the Epistle in a solemn 
manner in the church. All sit while it is being read, as they 
sat in the olden times while the celebrant read and explained 
it to them. That sitting recalls to us how the people of old 
sat and waited for the coming of Christ. The following is 
the Epistle for Easter : 

Reading of the Epistle of Blessed Paul to tlie Corinthians. 

Brethren, Purge out the o!d leaven, that you may be new paste as 
you are unleavened. For Christ our pasch is sacrificed. There- 
fore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice 
and wickedness, hut with the unleavcn bread of sincerity and truth. 
Thanks be to God. 

At the fourth or fifth last syllable, the subdeacon raises his 
voice as a sign that he has finished ; then he goes to the mid- 
dle of the altar and makes a genuflection, as he did in the be- 
ginning before coming to sing the Epistle. Then carrying the 
book, he goes to the corner of the altar, where the celebrant 
has been standing since he ended the Epistle, with the book 
closed in his hands ; the subdeacon kneels on the highest step 
to get the celebrant's blessing, for he represents the Old Tes- 
tament which was blessed by Christ represented by the cele • 
brant. He kisses the hand of the celebrant, as a sign of love 
and reverence toward Chirst, whom the celebrant personifies. 
Thus the subdeacon receives the celebrant's blessing at 
the end, for the Old Testament, which he figures, was 
blessed at its end by Christ ; while the deacon gets the cele- 
brant's blessing at the beginning, for the New Testament, 
which he typifies, was blessed by Chiist at its b3ginniug. 



' ALLELUIA AND EASTEE HYMN. 171 

The Gradual. 
The celebrant then reads the Gradual, from the Latin word 
meaning steps, for it tells of the grades or steps of virtue we 
must acquire in our journey through this life. It comes from 
the gradual Psalms, which were sung on the steps of the tem- 
ple in the times of the Kings of Israel. 

This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us be glad and rejoice 
therein. x 

Give praise to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy enduretli 

forever. 2 

The Alleluia. 

The Alleluia signifies the unutterable joys of heaven, which 
the " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered 
into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for 
them that love him.'' 3 According to Pope Innocent III 
alleluia means : " Ye children praise the Lord." 4 St. Augustine 
says it signifies : " O Lord save me." St. Jerome thinks that 
it is " Sing the praises of the Lord." St. Gregory, " The 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost " or "Light, life and salvation." 
The rea»son of these three different meanings is, that the 
word is made up of Hebrew abreviation, or pieces of words, 
and therefore it is hard to find out their true form. Other 
writers give many explanations of the word but we will not 
stop to tell them. 5 

In times of penance a piece called the 

Tract. 
follows the Gradual. It signifies and calls to our minds the 
times, when for seventy years the people of Israel dwelt in 
captivity on the rivers of Assyria and wept for the deliverance 
of Israel. 6 At some feasts there are hymns so beautiful that 
they cannot be translated into English, being far above those 
of Homer and Virgil • like all poetry their sweetness and then- 
splendors are lost in any but the Latin. 

The Easter Hymn. 

Of the pascal Victim christians sing the praise, 
The Lamb redeemed the sheep ; 

Christ the innocent to his father all doth save, 
Life met death in wondrous strife, 
The leader overcame and rose to life. 

1. Psalm, cxvii. 24. 4. In Psalm cxii Exposit 

2. Psalm, cxvii. 1. 5. Durand Rationale, Div. L. iv. c xx. n. 4. 

3. 1 Cor. ii. 9. 6 Ezech. i. 3. 



172 CHANGING THE BOOK. 

Tell us Mary what thou saw on the way 
To the grave of the living Christ ; 

I saw the glory of the Risen as they say, 
Angelic forms I saw around, 
His clothes and fillet on the ground. 

Christ then my hope has risen from the dead 

As the Angels told before ; 
To Galilee he'll go before you as he said, 

Christ has risen from the grave, 

Victorious King have mercy, save. 

The celebrant then passe3 to the middle of the altar, looks up 
to the image of the Crucified and bowing deeply says. 1 

Purify my heart and lips Almighty God who with a fiery coal didst 
cleanse the lips of Isaias the prophet ; thus wilt thou in thy sweet 
mercy deign to purify me, that I may worthily announce thy holy Gos- 
pel, through Christ our Lord, Amen. 

As soon as the celebrant has left the book, after finishing 
the Gradual, the Alleluia, and what follows the subdeacon 
who has been standing on the steps, takes the book, and de- 
scending to the floor of the sanctuary makes a genenection on 
the first step, and carries it to the right handside of the altar. 
He there waits for the celebrant. The subdeacon typifying 
the Jews, carries the book, for the Jews carried the book, 
that is the Holy Bible, to the Gentiles figured by the right 
hand side of the altar. The book is changed for the law of 
God, contained in the inspired book, the Bible, was taken 
from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, because the Jews 
rejected the lowly Savior and would not receive him as their 
Messiah. Therefore they are rejected by the Lord, his Holy 
law and inspired word taken from them and given to the 
Gentile nations. All this is typified by the changing of the 
book from the left of the altar figuring the Old Testament 
to the right figuring the New Testament ; carried by the 
subdeacon recalling the Jewish people rejected for having 
crucified the Lord as they chose ; His blood is on them and 
on their children. 

1. Benedict xiv de Sacrif. Mis. cvii De Evang. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MASS EXPLAINED. 

REASONS OF THE CEREMONIES EROM THE GOSPEL TO THE 

CANON. 

The Gospel. 

At a Low Mass the priest recites the Gospel. At a solemn 
High Mass, or when the bishop celebrates, the deacon takes 
the book from the server and bowing to the clergy on either 
side lays it on the altar, and kneeling on the highest step 
says the prayer "Purify my lips," etc., as given in the pre- 
ceding chapter. During this time the celebrant has been 
reading the Gospel at the corner of the altar. When the 
celebrant has finished, the deacon taking the book kneels 
to receive the celebrant's blessing, kissing his hand before 
going to sing the Gospel, like the Apostles receiving the 
Saviour's blessing before going to preach the Gospel to every 
creature. Gospel comes from a Saxon word, which means 
" Good tidings," for it is the good news of sin blotted out, 
heaven opened, the devil conquered, and the human race 
restored to its original inheritance, everlasting beyond the 
skies. 1 

The celebrant says, over the kneeling deacon, 
"May the Lord be in thy heart and in thy lips : that thou may 
worthily and ably announce his Gospel: In the name of the Fathei-,4"* 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 

The deacon kisses the celebrant's right hand, for he is go- 
ing to preach the " good tidings." The celebrant represents 
Jesus our Lord, whom the deacon reverences in the person 
of his celebrant. He kisses his right hand, for that signifies 
the other world of glory and of happiness, whence the Angel 
sat at the right hand side of the tomb, when the Lord had 
risen and passed into that other world of happiness and of 
glory. 2 

1 S. Chrystome. 2 Mark, XVI. 5. 



174 MOSES ON THE MOUNTAIN. 

The deacon takes the book of the Gospels from the altar, 
for the altar tells us of that Christ from whom came the 
Gospels. In the old law it was figured by Moses taking the 
tables of stone from the hands of the Lord on Mount Sinai. 
The Gospel is taken from the altar, figuring the Christian 
religion coming from the Jewish temple, for "the law shall 
go forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusa- 
lem." The deacon kneels to receive the celebrant's blessing 
before going to sing the Gospel, for how can he go to ^an- 
nounce the "good tidings" unless he be sent by Christ, 
figured by the celebrant ? " How shall they preach unless 
they be sent?" 1 The blessing of the deacon, who goes up 
the altar to receive it, was prefigured by Moses, who went 
up the mountain to receive the tables of the Command- 
ments, and the law of the Lord, and sent to tell them to the 
people of Israel. 2 Thus, as Christ sent his Apostles into the 
whole world, thus the celebrant sends the deacon to tell the 
good news of the Gospel to the people. The celebrant, 
therefore, blesses the deacon at the beginning of the Gospel, 
but he does not bless the subdeacon at the beginning of the 
Epistle, but at the end, for the deacon figures the New Tes- 
tament, which Christ blessed at its beginning, while the sub- 
deacon figures the Old Testament, which he blessed at its 
end. The celebrant then sends the deacon as Christ sent the 
Apostles and disciples, saying, " Go and preach, saying the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand." 3 The deacon then comes 
down from the altar, having the book of the Gospels in his 
hands, like Moses coming down from the mountain, having 
the tables of the law in his hands. 4 

They all go in procession to the place where the Gospel is 
to be sung ; going two by two they remind us of that little 
band of disciples sent by our Lord around Judea, as Jesus 
sent them, two by two, into every city and place into 
which he was to come, to prepare the way before him ; 5 the 
two candles in the hands of the acolites tell us of the truths 
revealed in the Old and New Testaments, enlightening the 
souls of men. On each side of the subdeacon they recall the 
law and the prophecy of the Old Testament, prefiguring the 

i Rom., X. 15. 2 Exod., XII. 15. s Math., X. 7. 

4 E sod., XXII. 15. 6 Luke, X. 



SINGING THE GOSPEL. 3 75 

great Mysteries of the Mass. Starting, the subdeacon goes 
first, for the Old Testament went before the New ; the sub- 
deacon holds and carries the book of the Gospel, for the 
Jews held the revelation of God for the gentile nations. 

At the moment the deacon begins to sing the Gospel 
all rise and stand till it is ended, to show respect and 
reverence to the words of our Lord. The deacon, sing- 
ing " The Lord be with you," asks that the Lord, that is, 
that the Holy Ghost may come down into the hearts of 
the people, and that the people may open their minds 
to receive the truths of the Gospel. The altar being in the 
east, the deacon or priest in reading the Gospel faces the north 
at a High, or partly that way at a Low Mass, for the Gospel, 
being the words of our Lord, is read against the devil, that 
Lucifer who said, "I will establish my seat in the north, and 
I will be like the Most High." Thus it is read or sung to 
destroy the influence of that impious and proud spirit, in his 
attempt to dry up and freeze the godly qualities of the soul 
by the coldness of infidelity, figured by the coldness of the 
north. The choir or server in their replies ask that the Lord, 
the Holy Ghost, may come into the heart of the deacon 
that he may sing with dignity and worthy reverence the 
words of our Lord. The people rise at the Gospel, says an 
ancient writer, to show that the people are ready to fight for 
Christ. 1 At the words, "continuation" etc., the deacon 
makes with his thumb a cross on his forehead, that he 
may carry the cross of Christ on his forehead, for, 
u God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus 
Christ;" 2 then on his lips that he may always confess Christ, 
for, "with the mouth confession is made unto salvation;" 3 
then on his heart to show and to tell of the faith in his 
heart; for, "with the heart we believe unto justice." 4 
AVhile the celebrant was reading the Gospel, after the dea- 
con finished his prayer at the altar, he waited till the cele- 
brant came to the middle where he offered the little spoon, 
when the latter put the incense into the incenser and blessed 
it. That incense is now used to incense the book of the 
Gospels. Taking the incenser the deacon swings it three 

* Pope Anastasius, De Consec. Dist, 1, Apostolicae. 2 Gal., V. 14. 

3 Rom.. X. 10, i Rom.. X. 10. 



176 GOSPEL CEREMONIES. 

times to show reverence to the words of Christ. The fol* 
lowing is the Gospel with the responses for Easter. 

The Lord be with you. 
And with thy spirit. 

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to (name of the Evan- 
gelist). 

Glory be to thee, O Lord. 

At that time, Mary Magdalen, and Mary the mother of James, and 
Salome bought sweet spices, that coming they might anoint Jesus. 
And very early in the morning, the first day in the week, they came 
to the sepulcher, the sun being now risen. And they said one to an- 
other : Who shall roll us back the stone from the sepulcher ? And 
looking they saw the stone rolled back. For it was very great. And 
entering into the sepulcher they saw a young man sitting on the right 
side clothed with a white robe, and they were astonished. And he 
said to them: Be not affrighted, you seek Jesus of Nazareth who was 
crucified ; he is not here ; behold the place where they laid him. But 
go and tell his disciples and Peter, that he goeth before you into Gali- 
lee, there you shall see him, as he told you. * 

Praise be to thee, O Christ. 

During the singing, at the end of each sentence, the 
deacon lets his voice fall on the fourth syllable and raises 
it again as a sign of a period. At the fourth syllable from 
the last of the Gospel, he lets his voice fall as before, but 
raises it up with certain modulations, to tell that he is at 
the end of the Gospel. 

At a Low Mass there are not so many solemnities, the 
priest taking the place of the deacon and subdeacon, while 
the server takes the place of the choir, and all is said in a 
low voice. At a High Mass the priest sings the parts sung 
by the deacon and subdeacon as well as those parts sung 
by the celebrant. At a Pontifical High Mass the bishop 
sits on the throne till the Offertory and all the ceremonies 
are carried out with great solemnity. 

The deacon having finished, the subdeacon carries the 
Gospel to the celebrant to be kissed; thus the book comes 
from the celebrant to show that all doctrine comes from 
Christ and goes back to him again, that is to Christ, re- 
presented by the celebrant, for he is the beginning and 
the end of all things, from him came all things at their 

i Mark, XVI. 



FROM THE TIME OF ESDRAS. 1 77 

creation, and all go back to him by giving him all glory 
and praise and honor ; to show that from him come our 
souls and they go back to him at our death ; the celebrant 
kisses the book at the beginning of the part read, to show 
how he loves the words of Christ; he kisses the words of the 
Gospel, which contain the highest knowledge of the 
science and the wisdom of heavenly things, for, " the lips 
of the priest shall keep knowledge and they shall seek the 
law at his mouth ;"* the deacon then incenses the cele- 
brant, to show that whatever good he did in singing the 
Gospel came not from himself, but from Christ, repre- 
sented by the celebrant ; he bows down before the cele- 
brant, for he reveres Christ in his minister the celebrant, 
and to kill any pride in his heart at singing the Gospel ; 
at the end the people make a genuflection to honor the 
words of our Lord in the Gospel ; all prefigured in the old 
law. When thejpeople of Israel returned from their captivity 
in Babylon, Esdras read the law in a high place with min- 
isters and ceremonies from morning till noon, and when he 
had made an ending, "all the people bowed down with their 
faces to the ground !" 2 

The Sermon. 
From the most ancient times, after the Gospel, a sermon 
is preached to the people, for we read that after Esdras had 
read the Law of Moses to the Jews after their return from 
captivity, he preached and explained it to them. 3 In the same 
way, as so many of our customs and ceremonies come from 
the Jewish tabernacle and temple, after we read the law of 
Christ in the church we explain it to the people in a sermon. 
From this comes a habit of preaching after the Gospel, that 
is, to explain and to teach the truths contained in the Gospel 
of our Lord, to tell them the way of salvation and of eternal 
life. But to preach and to teach the road to heaven, to point 
out the way of salvation to the people is such a difficult thing 
and so full of dangers, and so many are led astray, that no 
one can do so unless he be highly educated, sent by the 
bishop and that bishop sent by the supreme Pastor of all 
souls the Pope, the successor of Peter the fisherman, for 

1 Malach II., 7. 2 n Escha «, VIII, 6. > II Esdras, VIII. 9. 



178 THE PBEaCH.EE. 

"how shall they preach unless they be sent." 1 No one. 
therefore, but a priest or a deacon can enter the pulpit - 
preach. It is sinful, therefore, for the people to listen to any 
one not of our faith, lest in the simplicity of their hearts and 
for want of a knowledge of these things, they might be led 
away and fall into error. The Treacher must be in a high 
place, the pulpit, as becomes the dignity and the sublimity 
of the things he announces, like the Saviour in his sermon on 
the mount, for, " seeing the multitudes he went up into a 
mountain .... and opening his mouth he taught them :"- 
like Esdras when he taught the Israelites he made a wooden 
pulpit. 3 Thus, the preacher enters the pulpit to tell the peo- 
ple of those grand and sublime truths of salvation but suited 
to their intelligence and relating to faith and morals. 4 The 
truths of the Christian religion require not the proof- :: 
human wisdom. 5 Alas ! many not knowing this preach to 
the ruin of their hearers. 6 and the loss of their own souls. 

The preacher reads that part of the Gospel said during the 
Mass or the Epistle of the day, or takes any text he wishes 
from any part of the Bible and preaches on that. The cus- 
tom of taking a part of theBibleand preaching from it comes 
from the most ancient times, for in the early ages the Reader 
used to read apart of the holy Scripture- ] the preacher or 
bishop to explain it to the congregation." That explana: 
was not called a sermon but a Homily when it was an ex- 
planation of a part of the Holy Bible. The custom of tak- 
ing a text began, some say, about the twelfth century. 

The Ceeed. 
After the Gospel and the sermon, the C recited at a 

Low or sung at a High Mass. At every Mass the cele- 
brant recites the Creed when it is to be said, for he has to 
say ail the Mass. At a High Mass he intones the first four 
words and the choir continues the singing. At the end the 
celebrant makes a sign of the cross on himself, and at a Sung 
or High Mass, he, after making a genuflection in the middle, 
sits till the choir finishes the . 

The celebrant sings : M I believe in one God." tell:: _ : 

i Bom. X.. 15 2 Math. VTTI IS £ H Escrs>. VTTI , 

4 S. Gregory. 46 Di=t. Habit in fine. ' - .-:.:":. S V. Bed - - SanL 

S Justin Martyi _ I • : ■ 



THE CREEDS, 179 

his faith in the unity of the Godhead, for " with the heart 
we believe unto justice, but with the mouth confession is 
made unto salvation." 1 Whence, that the members of the 
church may receive the faith preached to them in the Gospel 
and in the sermon, they now recite the Creed, signifying 
their belief and their protestation that they believe in all the 
things heard in the Gospel and preached in the sermon, for 
the Apostle says : " How shall they believe in him whom 
they have not heard ; and how shall they hear without 
a preacher ?" 2 The Creed then is the protesting of our faith 
and belief in the things heard in the Gospel and the sermon, 
for "faith thus conieth by hearing and the hearing by the 
word of Christ." 5 It is sung at a High Mass, that all may 
publicly profess the Catholic faith. In doing this the priest 
stands in the middle of the altar, having his hands extended 
towards Heaven, figuring Christ blessing his disciples when 
ascending into Heaven ; 4 he then joins them, signifying 
piety, for without piety and devotion oar belief is useless. 
The Creed is sometimes called the Symbol, from two Greek 
words meaning an abstract or sunnuary of our faith and 
doctrine. 

There are three Creeds or Symbols— the Apostles', the Atha- 
nasian and the Nicene Creeds. The Apostles' Creed was com- 
posed, tradition tells us, by the Apostles at Jerusalem, 5 after 
the coming of the Holy Ghost, before they separated to 
preach the Gospel in different parts of the world, that they 
might teach and preach the same faith and doctrine. Tra- 
dition tells us that each one of the twelve Apostles composed 
one of the sentences. The Apostles' Creed is known to 
every one. We will give it with the portions said to have 
been composed by each of the Apostles. 

The Apostles' Creed. 

I believe in God, the Father Almighly, Creator of heaven and 
earth. 6 And in Jesus Christ, his only Soi j, our Lord 7 ; who was con- 
ceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Vhgin Mary, 8 suffered under 



i Rom., X., 16. 2 Rom., X., 14. 8 Rom„ &., 17. 4 Luke, XXIX., 50. 

5 Natalis Alexander Dessert. XII. 

6 Composed by S. Peter. 

7 Composed by S. John. 

8 Composed by S. Andrew. 



180 FORMED IN OLDEN TIMES. 

Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried P * he descended into hell, 
the third day he rose again from the dead, 2 he ascended into heaven 
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, 3 from thence 
he shall come to judge both the living and the dead 4 ; I believe in the 
Holy Ghost, 5 the holy Catholic Church, 6 the communion of saints, 
the forgiveness of sins, 7 the resurrection of the body, 8 and life 
everlasting. 9 Amen. 

The Athanasian Creed was composed by St. Athanasius, 
archbishop of Alexandria, who defended the faith against 
Arms and his followers, who denied that Christ was the Son 
of God, but the most perfect creature God could make. 1 ° 
That heresy spread through the north of Africa, Western 
Asia and Southern Europe, till millions of people, thousands 
of the clergy and hundreds of bishop fell into it. At one 
time it threatened to destroy the Church, becoming a far 
greater and more dangerous error than any other. * 1 It died 
out in the eighth century, 12 and now lives only in history. 
It shows that God kept his promise as he said: " Behold I 
am with you all days till the consummation of the world " J 3 
has been kept, for only the power of Christ could sustain 
his Church and keep her in these days. The Creed of St. 
Athanasius is so beautiful and so profound that we will give 
it here. As the Trinity and the Incarnation only were 
attacked, the Creed chiefly explains these. 

The Athanasian Creed. 

Who wishes to be .saved, before all it is necessary that he hold the 
catholic faith. 

Which unless each one holds whole and inviolate, without doubt he 
will perish in eternitj 7 . 

But this is the Catholic faith: that we venerate one God in the 
Trinity, and the Trinity in unity. 

1 Composed by S. James the Greater. 

2 Composed by S. Philip. 

3 Composed by S. Bartholomew. 

4 Composed by S. Thomas. 
6 Composed by S. Mathew. 

6 Composed by S. James the Lesser. 

7 Composed by S. Simon. 

8 Composed by S. Thad ieus. 

9 Composed by S. Mathias. 

10 Darras Hist, of the Church. 

11 Card. Newman on Arianism. 

12 Under Leuitprand in 744. Ic has been revived since the Reformation and is be 
lieved by many outside the Church to be the true, doctrine, its chief defenders be- 
ing Prof. Wheston and Dr. Clark. 

13 Math., XXVHI. 20 




'HE CATHEDRAL ANTWERP, 



THE TRINITY AND INCARNATION. 18 1 

Neither confounding the persons, nor separating the substance: 

For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and 
another of the Holy Ghost. 

But of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, there one 
divinity, equal glory, coeternal majesty. 

As the Father, so the Son, so the Holy Ghost. 

The Father not created, the Son not created, the Holy Ghost not 
created. 

The Father immense, the Son immense, the Holy Ghost immense. 

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Ghost eternal. 

And nevertheless there are not three eternals, but one eternal. 

As there are not three increated, nor three immense, but one in- 
created, and one immense. 

In the same way omnipotent the Father, omnipotent the Son, om- 
nipotent the Holy Ghost. 

And nevertheless there are not three omnipotents, but one omnipo- 
tent. 

Thus God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. 

And nevertheless there are not three Gods; but one God. 
Thus the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Ghost is Lora. 

And nevertheless there are not three Lords: but there is one Lord. 

For as by Catholic truth we are obliged to confess each person 
separately God and Lord : thus by the Catholic religion we are for 
bidden to say that there are three Lords or three Gods. 

The Father is of none, neither created, nor generated. 

The Son is alone of the Father, not made, not created, but gener- 
ated. 

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and the Son not made, nor created, 
nor generated, but proceeding. 

There is therefore one Father, not three Fathers; one Son not three 
Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. 

And in this Trinity there is nothing first or last, nothing greater or 
less : but the whole three persons are coeternal and coequal one to the 
other. 

Thus through all, as was already said above, there is to be vener- 
ated unity in the Trinity, and the Trinity in unity. 

Who wishes therefore to be saved, thus must he believe with regard 
to the Trinity. 

But for everlasting salvation it is necessary that we also faithfully 
believe in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is therofore the right faith, that we believe and that we con- 
fess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man. 

He is God generated from the substance of his Father before ai.. 
ages and man born in the world from the substance of his mother. 

Perfect God and perfect man being of a reasonable soul and human 
flesh. 

Equal to the Father according to his divinity : less than the Father 
according to his humanity, 



152 A>"T1E>"T EGTPT. 

Who, although he is God and man, nevertheless there are not two., 
but one Christ. 

One not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh, but by the 
raising up of the humanity unto God. 

Entirely one not by the confusion of substance, but by the unity of 
person. 

For as of a reasonable soul and flesh there is one man: thus of God 
and man there is one Christ. 

"Who suffered for ovr salvation, descended into hell, the third day 
he arose from the dead. 

He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father 
almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. 

At whose corning all men must rise with their bodies, and give an 
account of their own actions. 

And those who did good will go into everlasting life, but those who 
did bad into everlasting fire. 

This is the Catholic faith, which unless each one faithfully and 
firmly believes he cannot be saved. 

TTe have nothing to add to the beauty, to the grandeur 

and to the depths of these words, re-echoing from the early 
ages, and from the banks of the Xile in the days of the 
great saints, in the times when this our holy religion flour- 
ished in Egypt, when the deserts bloomed and blossomed 
like the rose, and sanctity and holiness dwelled in the 
monasteries and convents of the Levant. The Athanasian 
Creed was composed in the ancient language, so difficult to 
render in English, composed in the fourth century, to tell 
all ages of the true Catholic faith, to tell of the belief in 
the Trinity, to tell of the doctrine of the Incarnation of 
the Son of God, and to tell of the Apostolic traditions com- 
ing down from the times of Christ. If the words seem 
hard to understand it is because the reader has not a good 
clear knowledge of the mysteries of which it speaks, and 
because the English will not bear a perfect translation. 

The SThjkkb Ceeed. 

1 believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and 
earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus 
Christ; the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before 
all ages. God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Generated, 
not made, consubstantial to the Father : by him all things were made. 
Who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven. 
(Here all kneel.) He was conceived by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin 
Marv: and was made man. He was crucified also for us : suffered 



CEREMONIES AT THE CREED. 183 

under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. The third day he rose from 
the dead, according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven; he 
sits at the right hand of the Father. He is to come again with glory, 
to judge the living and the dead: of whose kingdom there shall be no 
end. And in the Holy Ghost, Lord and life giver : who proceeds 
from the Father and the Son. Who with the Father and the Son, at 
the same time is adored, and equally glorified: who spoke by the pro- 
phets. And in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess 
one baptism in the remission of sins. And I expect the resurrection 
of the dead and life everlasting. Amen. 

The Nicene Creed was composed by the bishops of the 
Catholic Church united at the Council of Nice, in the year 
325. When the Creed was read all the bishops cried out : 
"This is the faith of Catholics ; in this were we baptized." 1 
This is the Creed recited at nearly all the Masses and sung 
by the choir. At the words " He was conceived, " the 
people and clergy kneel, while the celebrant and his minis- 
ters take off their berretas, and hold them till the choir fin- 
ishes these words. This is to adore the tremendous humili- 
ations of the Son of God coming down from heaven, and 
becoming man in the mystery of the Incarnation. 

After intoning the Creed, the celebrant, still standing at 
the altar, recites it, bowing at the words, "one God," 
" Jesus Christ," " adored," while at the words, " and be- 
came man," he with all the people make a genuflection to 
adore the mystery of the Incarnation. Then at a Sung, a 
High or a Solemn High Mass the celebrant sits, as it would 
be too long to stand, while the choir is singing the Creed. 

You will notice that the Athanasianandthe Nicene Creeds 
are but better and fuller explanations of the Apostles' Creed, 
and that therefore there is but one Creed and one belief. 

During the singing of the Creed, when the choir has fin- 
ished the words, '* And became man," the deacon rises, bows 
to the celebrant as his superior, goes to the side table, takes 
the burse with the corporal and spreads it on the altar. He 
then returns to his place with the usual bows and genuflec- 
tions. While he has been doing this the subdeacon stands 
to honor his superior, the deacon. At a Low Mass the cele- 
brant spreads the corporal at the beginning of the service. 

Towards the end of the Creed, the celebrant and ministers 

1 Acta Concil. Nicsen. 



184 CEREMONIES AT THE OFFERTORY. 

rise and go to the middle of the sanctuary, make a genuflec- 
tion and the celebrant ascends to the altar, the deacon stand- 
ing on the steps and the subdeacon on the floor as usual. 
The celebrant kisses the altar, for that represents Christ, 
turns to the people and says at a Low or sings at a High Mass, 
the server or choir replying : 

The Lord be with you, 
And with thy spirit. 
Let us pray. 

Kissing the altar which tells of Christ, the celebrant sends 
the Lord, that is the Holy Ghost, among the people ; he first 
kisses the altar representing Christ the Son of God, to tell 
that the Lord whom he sends, the Holy Spirit, comes from 
the Son as well as from the Father ; such is the meaning of 
kissing the altar each time the celebrant turns and savs 
" The Lord be with you." 

While the choir is singing, or the server is answering, 
" And with thy spirit," the celebrant turning to the altar, bow- 
ing to Jesus in the tabernacle, and- opening his hands, says, 
" Let us pray." At all times, except when doing something 
or at certain prayers, the celebrant keeps his hands joined, as 
that is the most convenient way and it signifies devotion. 
Having his hands joined he turns to the book and reads 
in a low tone the part called 

The Offertory. 
The Earth trembled and was still, when God rose in judgement. * 

"When the celebrant is praying at any part of the Mass, the 
deacon and subdeacon stand behind the celebrant in a line, 
so that the subdeacon is on the floor, the deacon on the steps 
half way between him and the celebrant, who is on the 
platform at the altar. The subdeacon tells us of the Old 
Testament and the Jews, who by the Law and the Prophecy 
came only near to the great Sacrifice ; the deacon is the New 
Testament, the Gospel and the Apostles, who came higher 
and nearer to the perfect man Jesus Christ, figured by the 
celebrant, higher up at the altar. 

When the celebrant says " Let us pray," the deacon 
makes a genuflection and goes to the side of the celebrant, 

i Psalm LXXY., 9-10. 



BRINGING BREAD AND WINE. 185 

the subdeacon does the same and goes to the little table, 
takes the chalice, covers it with a veil put on his shoulders 
and brings all to the altar. The subdeacon and the chalice 
covered with a veil recall to us the mysteries and the cere- 
monies of the Mass, veiled and foretold in the sacrifices and 
the ceremonies of the Old Testament represented by the sub- 
deacon. He brings the bread to the altar on the paten, for 
the Jews prefigured that in the ceremonies of the loaves of the 
proposition bread. The deacon takes the paten, with the 
bread, and gives it to the celebrant 1 and pours the wine into 
the chalice, for the Apostles, whom he represents, prepared 
the hall and the bread and wine for the last supper. The 
celebrant puts the bread and wine on the linen cloth called the 
Corporal, 3 for: "The opinion of all having been obtained, 
no one will presume to celebrate the sacrifice of the altar on 
a cotton or colored cloth, but on pure linen blessed by the 
bishop, that grew from the earth and wove like the Body of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, which, when buried was wrapped in 
linen cloths" 3 Such was given in olden times. When giv- 
ing anything to the celebrant the deacon always kisses the 
thing, then the celebrant's hand ; when taking anything 
from him he first kisses the hand, then the thing ; this is to 
show love and reverence to Christ represented by the cele- 
brant. Taking the bread on the little golden plate, called 
the paten, the celebrant first lifts his eyes to the image of 
the Crucified, then lowers them to the bread, and keeping 
them thus fixed, he recites the following prayer : 

Receive, O Holy Father, omnipotent, eternal God, this unspotted 
Host, which I, thy unworthy servant, offer thee, my living and true 
God, for my numberless sins, offenses and negligences, and for all 
present, and for all the faithful Christians, living and dead, that to 
me and to them it may be salutary unto everlasting life. Amen. 

At the words, " unto everlasting life," he makes a cross 
with the paten and bread over the altar, and lays the bread 
on the corporal. If there be any for Communion the breads 
are offered for them on the paten, or if a great number they 
are put in the ciborium, and those left are placed in the tab- 
ernacle. 

All this was prefigured in the Old Testament, for we read 

1 Pope Sother XX. Dist. Saeerdote. " De Consecr. Dcit I. Ex Consulto 

3 Council of Anthesit. Dist. Presbyt 



186 CEREMONIES OYER BREAD AND AVINE. 

that the Lord commanded Moses that he should make twelve 
loaves of bread, and put them on a most clean table : "And 
each Sabbath they should be before the Lord. And they 
shall be Aaron's and his Sons, that they may eat them in 
the holy places." 1 This was called the priests' bread, for 
they alone could eat it ; or, according to another writer, 2 
because the priests only could prepare it ; it was called the 
proposition bread, for it was placed on the table of propo- 
sition, twelve in number, to signify the twelve tribes of 
Israel. We make the breads round, for that is the easiest 
way, or because a circle, without beginning or end, recalls 
the eternity of God, without beginning or end. 

While the celebrant is doing this, the deacon takes the 
chalice from the subdeacon, and wiping it with the puriii- 
cator, pours the -wine into it, letting the purificator hang- 
down so as to receive any drop of wine or water which 
might fall. The subdeacon then offers the water to the 
celebrant to be blessed, and pours a drop or two into the 
chalice. The deacon wipes it on the inside, and, with the 
accustomed kisses, hands it to the celebrant. While this is 
going on the celebrant remains at the middle of the altar. 

At a Low Mass the celebrant takes the chalice to the 
corner of the altar, and puts the wine and water, saying the 
following words : 

O Lord, -who didst wonderfully create the dignity of human na- 
ture, arid more wonderfully redeem it : grant us by the mystery of 
this water to become the partakers of his Divinity, who deigned to 
become the partaker of our humanity, Jesus Christ thy son, our Lord: 
Who with thee liveth and reigneth, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, 
for ever and ever. Amen. 

All these are to teach the people truths by signs and 
ceremonies. The subdeacon, offering the bread and wine 
at the corner of the altar, tells us of the bread and wine 
offered by that great and mysterious high priest of the Old 
Testament, Melchisedech King of Salem, 3 a figure of that 
later, and greater, and perfecter, and higher priest Jesus 
Christ, who is a " priest forever according to the order of 
Melchisedec;" 4 water is mixed with wine to signify our 
union with Christ; to tell of the water which flowed from 

~ i Levit. XXIV., 8, 9. 2 Joseptms. 3 Gen. XIV. 18. 4 Psalm CIX. 4. 



HIDING THE PATEN. 187 

his side when dead on the cross; 1 foreshown of old when 
Moses struck the rock and the water came forth as the Apos- 
tle says : " and they all drank of the spiritual rock that fol- 
lowed them, and the rock was Christ;" 3 that water mixed 
with wine tells us of our human nature united to the Div- 
inity in the Incarnation. 

The little golden plate, the paten, is then hidden under the 
corporal, at a Low or held in the hands of the subdeacon at 
a High Mass; he covers it with the humeral veil on his 
shoulders till towards the end of the " Our Father." That 
hiding of the paten recalls to us the hiding of the Apostles 
during the Saviour's pasbion, as he foretold: "Air you 
shall be scandalized in me this night, for it is written : I 
will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be 
dispersed;" 3 it tells again of the Divinity of Christ as it 
were hidden in his passion, when his human nature only 
suffered; it tells again of the blindness of the Jews, who 
would not receive him as the Messiah; and at a High Mass, 
covered with a veil and held before the subdeacon's eyes, 
who figures the Jews, it is a striking picture of the blindness 
of that people, who saw not their Saviour in the lowly Jesus 
of Nazareth. Toward the end of the Mass at the words: 
"Forgive us our trespasses," the subdeacon uncovers it, 
and takes it from before his eyes so that he can see the 
altar, a figure of the time to come, foretold by the prophets, 
toward the end of the world, when the Jews will see the 
truth and be converted to the church. 

The celebrant then raises the chalice, and his eyes fixed 
on the crucifix, says the following, the deacon repeating 
with him : 

We offer thee, O Lord, the chalice of salvation beseeching thy clem- 
ency : that in the sight of thy divine majesty it may ascend as an odor 
of sweetness for our salvation and that of the whole world. Amen. 

This prayer relates not so much to the present time as to 
the moment of the sacrifice; for that reason it is called "the 
chalice of salvation." The deacon holds one hand under 
the chalice with the celebrant, for he takes part in offering 
the great Sacrifice; his other hand holds up the vestment, 

» John XIX. 34. a i Cor. X. 4. 3 Math. XXVI. 31. 



188 PUTTING IN INCENSE. 

the remains of the old customs of bygone -ages, when the 
chasuble was made large, and when the deacon used to 
raise it up, so that the celebrant could get out his hands 
and take the chalice. Both holding the chalice they make 
with it the sign of the cross and lay it on the altar, the cele- 
brant at a Low or the deacon at a High Mass covering it 
with a pall. 

Putting his hands together, and laying them on the edge 
of the altar, so that the points of his little fingers touch the 
altar, and bowing deeply down, the celebrant continues : 

In the spirit of humility, find with a contrite heart, may we be re- 
ceived by thee, O Lord, and this our sacrifice in thy sight to-day, that 
it may be pleasing to thee, O Lord God. 

Then raising his eyes toward heaven, and elevating his 
hands, he continues : 

Come, sanctifier, almighty, eternal God : and bless >}* this sacrifice 
prepared in thy name. 

At " bless," he makes the sign of the cross over the chal- 
ice and bread. The deacon then gives the little spoon to 
the celebrant, who puts incense three times in the form of a 
cross, saying : 

By the intercession of blessed Michael, the Archangel, standing at 
the right hand of the altar of incense, and of all his elect, may the 
Lord deign to bless »j« this incense, and receive it as an odor of sweet- 
ness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

At "bless," after having put three spoonsfuls on the 
burning coals in the form of a cross, he blesses the censer 
with his right hand, resting his left on the altar. Then 
taking the censer from the deacon with the usual kisses, he 
makes three crosses over the bread and wine, and three cir- 
cles around them with the incense, saying : 

May this incense, blessed by thee, O Lord, ascend to thee, and thy 
mercy come down upon us. 

While the celebrant is incensing the bread and wine, the 
deacon puts his hand on the chalice to prevent it from turn- 
ing over, in case of accident. All make a genuflection, 
when the celebrant incenses the crucifix and altar, saying : 
"Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight,"* ccc, 

i Psalm CXXXX.. 2 to 4. 



INCENSING THE OFFERING AND ALTAR. 189 

as given before on page 162, When he has incensed the 
cross, he makes a genuflection, and then continues the in- 
censing of the altar. All this time he is waited on by the 
deacon, while the subdeacon is on the floor below holding 
the paten covered before his eyes. The incensing of the 
altar here is the same as at the beginning of the Mass. 
When he has finished, the deacon takes the incenser from 
him with the usual kisses, and descending to the floor, 
while the celebrant stands on the platform, the deacon in- 
censes him with three swings, making a bow before and 
after. He then incenses the subdeacon, the bishops in the 
sanctuary, if present, the clergy, hands the incenser to the 
thurif er, and returns to his place, and is incensed himself 
with two swings. The people are then incensed in the 
usual way. 

The meaning of this incensing of the altar appears from 
the words of an ancient council : "At the time when the 
Gospel is finished, the Offering is incensed as a remem' 
brance of the death of the Saviour." 1 That is, when the 
body of the dead Lord was placed in the tomb, before it 
was laid away, Joseph, Nicodemus and the holy women 
wrapped incense around it in the folds of the linens, after 
the manner of the Jews when burying their dead ; 3 thus 
the incensing of the bread and wine, soon to be changed 
into the Body and Blood of Christ, and the incensing of 
the altar, which represents Christ, is to honor him whom 
these typify and recall to our mind ; the ministers and the 
people are incensed because they tell us of that great and 
perfect man, Jesus Christ, who took our form and flesh and 
became a man like us. 

The Celebrant Washing His Hands. 

As soon as the deacon goes to incense the others, the cel- 
ebrant washes his hands, saying : 

I will wash my hands among the innocent : and will compass thy 
altar, O Lord. 

That I may hear the voice of thy praise : and tell of ."all thy won- 
drous works. 

I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house, and the place where 
thy glory dwelleth. 

i Concil Rhotom. 2 Lu k e , XXIII. 56. 



190 WASHING HIS FIXGEES. 

Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked : nor my life 
with bloody men : in whose hands are iniquities : their right hand is 
filled with gifts. 

But as for me, I have walked in my innocence : redeem me and 
have mercy on me. 

My foot hath stood in the direct way : in the churches I will bless 
thee, OLord. 1 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As 
it was in the beginning and is now and will be forever. Amen. 

The celebrant washes his hands twice ; first at the begin- 
ning of Mass, then after the incensing of the Offering and 
the altar, that he may be more and more holy to offer the 
Eternal Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ. Thus, 
as the waters of Baptism wash the soul from sin, as the waters 
placed at the door of the church wipe out our little sins, 
thus the washing of the celebrant's hands is typical of the 
washing of his soul from every stain of evil, that he may be 
wholly white and sinless before the Lord. At the " Glory," 
etc., the celebrant bows to the tabernacle to adore the second 
Person of the Trinity residing there. While saying " As it 
was in the beginning," etc., he returns to the middle of the 
altar, and bowing down says : 

Wilt thou receive, O holy Trinity, this oblation, which we offer 
thee in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; and in honor of the blessed Mary ever Virgin, 
and blessed John the Baptist, and of the holy Apostles, St. Peter and 
St. Paul, of these, and of all the saints, that it may be to them an honor, 
and to us salvation; and that in Heaven they may deign to pray for 
us, whose memory we celebrate on earth. Through the same Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

The bowing down of the celebrant recalls to us him who 
cc humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to 
the death of the cross ;" 2 the celebrant after washing his 
fingers bows down and prays to tell us of the Saviour, who, 
after having bowed down in washing his disciples feet at the 
Last Supper, prayed to his eternal Father. Becoming erect 
he kisses the altar with the kiss of peace, to bring to our 
minds again him who came to give peace to the world, and 
that he "might reconcile both to God in one body by the 
cross, killing the enmities in himself." 3 Then turning to 
the people he says to them : 

"Pray brethren;" 

1 Psalm XXV., 6 to end. 2 Philip H., 8. 3 Ephes. n., 16. 



IN SILENCE. 191 

and making a complete circle he returns with his face to the 
altar continuing the prayer : 

That my sacrifice and yours may he acceptable to God, the Father 
Almighty. 

The deacon at a High or the server at a Low Mass replies : 
May the Lord receive the sacrifice from thy hands for the praise 

and glory of his name, for our benefit, and that also of his entire holy 

church. 

The celebrant answers : 
Amen. 

The celebrant, asking the people to pray that this tremen- 
dous sacrifice of Christ himself may be acceptable to God the 
Father, reminds us of the time before his passion when he 
said to his deciples : "Pray that you enter not into tempta- 
tion," 1 and of the prayer of Jesus for his followers. 2 

The celebrant prays in silence, that he may pray with 
more devotion and piety, typical of the silence of our Lord 
during his passion. 

The Seceet. 

After he has said " Amen," he reads the secret, one or 
more according to the number of prayers in the beginning 
of the Mass, and like the latter changing each day. 

Accept, we beseech thee, O Lord, the prayers of thy people with 
these offered hosts ; that initiated in thy Paschal mysteries, thou helping 
they may gain fur us the reward of eternity. Through our Lord Jesus 
Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the 
Holy Ghost for ever and ever. Amen. 

The words of this prayer are always said in silence, telling 
of the silence of our Lord when accused of every sin and 
crime in the houses of the high priest, of Pilate and of 
Herod ; telling, in typical meanings, of the mysteries of the 
Saviour's sufferings, and of the sacrifice of the cross hidden 
in the sacrifices of Abel, of Isaac, of Melchisedech, of the 
pascal lamb, of the red cow, of the scape goat , and of all 
these grand and mysterious ceremonies and sacrifices of the 
ancient temple and tabernacle, ordained by God to foretell 

i Luke XXII., 40. 2 Jchn XXII. 



192 THE PREFACE. 

and to prepare the world for the sacrifice of the Cross and of 
the Mass. 

As at all the prayers, the celebrant's hands are extended 
like the sacred hands of the Crucified upon the cross ; he 
joins them at the words, " Through Christ," etc., to give 
force to the words, " In the unity of the Holy Ghost," thus 
by the joined hands to teach the unity of one God in three 
Persons ; he then drops them on the altar to show that he 
now comes down from heavenly thoughts and the holy com- 
munion of silence and secret by saying aloud at a Low, or 
singing at a High Mass : 

The Preface. 

For ever and ever. 

Amen. 
The Lord be with you. 
And with thy spirit. 
Raise up your hearts. 
TVe have them up to God. 
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 
It is worthy and just. 
It is truly worthy and just, right, and unto salvation; to praise 
Thee at all times, but more gloriously on this day, when Christ our 
Pasch is immolated. For He is the true Lamb, who took away the 
sins of the world. Who dying destroyed our death, and rising re- 
newed our life. And therefore, with the Angels and the Archangels, 
with the Thrones, and the Dominations, with all the army of the 
heavenly host, we sing a.lrymn of thy glory, without end, saying : 
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Sabaoth. 
The heavens and earth are filled with thy glory. 
Hosanna in the highest. 

Blessed is he who cometh in the name of the Lord, 
Hosanna in the highest. 

There are eleven Prefaces said on the following feasts, 
and within the eight days following them: Christmas, Epiph- 
any, during Lent, on the feasts of the Holy Cross, of the 
sacred Blood of our Lord, of his Passion, Easter, Ascension, 
Pentecost, Trinity, Feasts of the Virgin, of the Apostles, 
and one common to ordinary days of the year. 

The Preface is said in a low tone at a Low, and sung at a 
High Mass ; never by any one but the celebrant. It is the 
sublime Canticle of the Angels in heaven and of the men of 
earth, singing the praises of the Lord and of the Lamb ; 
telling us of the hymn heard by the loved Apostle in the 



MEANING OF THE PREFACE. 193 

isle of Patmos ; " and they sung, as it were, a new canticle 
"before the throne .... and no man could say the can- 
ticle but these .... for they are virgins." 1 It is called 
the Preface because it is the introduction to the chief part 
of the Mass, the Canon. In the beginning, the celebrant and 
the choir, or server, reply to one another, like the people of 
God in the times of the Old Testament, when the Jews were 
keeping the feasts of the purifying of the Temple, when : 
" All the priests made prayer, while the sacrifice was con- 
suming, Jonathan beginning and the rest answering. 2 " The 
celebrant says ; " Forever and ever," that is, let all creatures 
praise the Trinity " forever and ever ;" " the Lord be with 
you," that is, may the Holy Spirit be in your souls and minds 
to know and to love the Lord ; "Raise up your hearts," 
that is, may our hearts be raised up from earthly to heaven- 
ly things ; "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God," that 
■is, foreseeing the great gift of the Son of God coming to 
be sacrificed for our salvation, and looking back on that sac- 
rifice of Calvary let us give thanks to our Lord and Saviour 
God. And what is more worthy of thanks and of praises 
and of all that we can give, than that Lord coming to be 
immolated for us in the Mass. While reciting or singing the 
Preface, the celebrant holds his hands out, as at all the most 
solemn parts of the service. When saying the Holy, Holy, 
Holy, &c, he joins them and bows deeply down to adore 
the three times Holy God ; to join his humble voice to that 
of the numberless Hosts of heaven in the praises of the 
Eternal and Omnipotent God-Head. Tims the church, wish- 
ing to unite witli the Angels, Archangels and the celestial 
spirits mentioned, cries out by her servant, the celebrant, in 
the words of the Seraphim seen by Israel's greatest inspired 
prophet, 3 and in the words of the captive children in the 
iiery furnace : a Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Saba- 
oth." The three times "Holy" is the Hebrew way of saying 
the Most Holy, it comes then, from the Old Testament. The 
"Hosanna," &c, was the cry of the multitudes, who went 
before and who followed our Lord, during his triumphal 
entry into Jerusalem, spreading their garments and branches 
of palm under his feet and crying, "Hosanna to the Son of 

1 Apoc. XIV., 34. a iiMach. I., 23. s Isaias VI., 3. 



194 

David; Blessed is He cometh in the name of the Lord, 

Hosanna in the Highest." " Hosanna to the Sod of David n 
signifies his human nature ; '" Hosanna in the Highest *' sig- 
niiies his Divine nature, thus, as by inspiration, the multi- 
tude proclaimed him God and man. 

The three times '-Holy" tells us of the three mos: holy 
Persons of the Trinity, the '"Lord G-od of Sabaotb M teaches 
us the unity of one nature in God ; thus the " Sanctis "' of 
the Mass teaches us the two greatest mysteries of our holy 
: r j: n. the two natures of Christ united in one Person, and 
the three Persons of the Trinity united in one God-Head. 
The "Holy" is the singular to teach that each one of the 
Persons is holy ; that their nature is single and hut one holy 
God. Such is me canticle of the celebrant, ascend- 

ing up before the throne of God, revealed from heaven in the 
cry of the angelic spirits. "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord 
God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come. 1 

"Lord God of Sabaoth," that is, Lord God of hosts, of 
Angels and of men. ; - Hosanna,'' that is. I beseachthee save, 
or. I pray thee save the people. These are the meanings of 
the words in the original Hebrew. 

That Preface said by the celebrant, recalls and brings to 
our minds the shout of the crowd of Jews, who, when they 
heard of the coming of our Lord into Jerusalem, took 
branches of palm and following him and surrounding him, 
and going before him. spread their palms and clothes under 
his feet, crying out " Hosanna to the Son of David ; blessed 
is he who eometh in the name of the Lord."' O King of Israel. 
Branches of palm in the figurative ways of the Eastern 
na signify peace and tell of victory, and thus having 
mstructed by the Saviour, and having heard of his death, 
they received him thus coming into the city to die. I 
quer death upon the cross and overcome the devil, the father 
and the cause of death. 

The word Hosanna, as these who understand the Hebrew 
say, in the words of S. Augustine, 2 means an exclamation 
rather than a thing, and by that they expressed their joy in 
following their Saviour to victory with the crowd of his fol- 

1 Apoc., IV.. 5. - S. A ! ft ilia Joan 



THE MEDIATOR. 195 

lowers. But how foolish it is to depend on the opinion of 
the crowd ! What an example of the changing opinions of 
men, the same crowd which cried so loudly on that day, 
" Hosanna to the Son of David " on Sunday, cried " crucify 
him, crucify him," on Friday. How foolish then is it to look 
to men for our reward, for the same tongues which praise us 
the beginning of the week may, without reason, condemn us 
before the end. 

The celebrant, standing at the altar, with his face turned 
from the people and toward God, tells us by that way that 
he stands between God and man ; that he offers a sacrifice 
received by the Deity if there be no one but himself to see 
it ; that the assistance of the people is not necessary for the 
sacrifice ; that he stands there as the chosen of the Lord, 
raised up from among men to plead their cause before the 
throne of grace, and offer as a sacrifice to the Lord the 
"Lamb of God" upon the altar. Nothing in the rites and 
services of the Church so strongly tells us of the priest and 
of his position between God and man, as the celebrant at the 
time of the Preface, standing alone at the altar reciting at 
a low or singing at a high Mass that grand and magnificent 
piece, the Preface. No one can take part in it but himself; 
it cannot be said or sung except by the celebrant. The 
silence of the Church is a preparation for the Canon when the 
celebrant leaves as it were the people and enters in silence 
into the most solemn and secret part of the sacrifice where 
alone he penetrates like the high priest of old behind the 
veil and communes with the Lord of Hosts, in the silence 
and secrets of the Canon, where alone and with God, and to 
the Lord he offers a Victim worthy of the Deity. For what 
can we offer as a sacrifice worthy of the Lord ? What crea- 
ture can be found in all the universe, which reason tells us 
is great and precious enough to be offered before the sight 
of his divine majesty? The sacrifices of the Old Law were 
figures of another which was to come, the " Lamb of God, 
Christ our Lord, who is God and man, the Second Person of 
the Trinity, the Son of God, and the only thing worthy of 
being offered to his Father. Thus in the Mass God is 
honored by the sacrifice of his Son, not in a bloody and 



190 THE SACRIFICE. 

violent manner as on Calvary, but in a mystic and in a 
typical manner in the Mass. 

Thus far the services of the Mass have been like a prepara- 
tion for the solemn and awful mysteries of the Canon. But 
of the Canon, we Trill treat in the following chapter. 



CHAPTEE XL 

THE MASS EXPLAINED. 

REASONS OF THE CEREMONIES OF THE CANON. 

THE word Canon comes from the Greek and signifies a 
rule, for it is the rule by which this part of the Mass is 
always said. It must be said in a low tone, the lips moving like 
Anna praying in the tabernacle, 1 lest by being heard often it 
might be learned by bad men who would make a mockery of 
its holy words, as happened in ancient times. 2 It signifies the 
silence of heaven, for " there was silence in heaven, as it were 
for half an hour." 3 The celebrant saying the canon was 
typified of old by the High Priest in silence entering the Holy 
of Holies, and the Mass itself by the sacrifices of the law of 
Moses; they all related to and prefigured the sacrifice of the cross, 
of which the Mass is the continuation, for it tells of the suf- 
fering, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. 

We know not the author of the canon. Some say that Pope 
Galasius 4 arranged it as it now stands; others, Musaeus; 5 some 
again say it was Voconius; 6 but the Council of Trent settled 
the matter by saying: " The Catholic Church, that the sacri- 
fice might be worthily and reverently offered and received, 
instituted the canon in past ages. . . . It is made up of the 
words of the Lord, the traditions of the Apostles, and the 
pious institutions of the Popes." 7 We find, by deep research, 
that it goes back till it is lost in the ages near to the Apostles, 
when they hid the holy books of the sacrifice, lest they might 
be profaned by the pagans in the times of the Eoman em- 
perors. IsTo tongue can tell or words proclaim the depth of 
the meaning of those holy words, of that unchanging prayer 

1 I. Kings i. 1. 2 O'Brien, History of the Mass, p. 298. s Apoc. viii. 1. 4 Durand, 
Rationale Divin. L. IV. c. xxxv. 12. 5 Benedict XIV.. De S. Sacrif. Mis. c. xii. 2. 
6 Idem. 7 Concil. Trident, ses. xxii. c. 4, De Sacrif. Mis. 



198 ' THEtf BEGINS THE CANON. 

used in the celebration of the holy mysteries. We will try 
and give a few ideas, reader, on these beautiful prayers, know- 
ing that no man can do them justice. They must be seen 
in the original Latin to see their beauties; but we will try to 
give a faithful translation. 

First Part. 

Thee, therefore, most merciful Father, we humbly pray and beseech, 
through Christ our Lord, thy Son, that thou wouldst receive and bless 
these »y" gifts, these *%* offerings, these *%* holy sacrifices unspotted, that 
we offer thee, chiefly for thy Catholic Church; that thou wouldst deign 
to pacify, guard, unite, and rule her throughout the world: one with thy 
servant our Pope N., and our Bishop N., and all true believers and wor- 
shippers of the Catholic faith. 

The canon begins with the letter T, and by the finger of 
God 1 that most holy prayer commences with that letter like a 
cross — in Hebrew, Thau; like the sign of salvation that each 
one should carry on his forehead, by command of God to the 
inspired prophet of old: " Go through the midst of the city, 
through the midst of Jerusalem, aud mark Thau upon the 
foreheads of the men that sigh and moan for all the abomina- 
tions that are committed in the midst thereof " 2 — that is, the 
sign of the cross that appeared to Constantine; 3 the sign that 
the Angel will place upon the foreheads of those who will be 
saved on the last day. 4 

The canon begins with: "Thee, therefore, most merciful 
Father" — following our Lord, who while on earth ceased not 
to pray to his Father, 5 "Most merciful Father;" that is, most 
kind, most benign, for all these are contained in the Latin 
word used. Speaking thus, the celebrant, at the word "'bless," 
kisses the altar — that is, Christ represented by the altar. Dur- 
ing all this time the celebrant is bowed down like Christ in 
the garden, about to enter his passion; 6 bowed down like 
Peter looking into the sepulchre of the risen God. 7 Thus the 
celebrant, approaching the great mystery of the altar, bows 
down with humility. 

Thus the celebrant, beginning the canon, is like Christ be- 
ginning his passion. And he began by being three times de- 
livered: first, he was delivered up by his Father in heaven — 

i Innocent III. 2 Ezech. ix. 4. s Darras. Hist, of the Church. 4 Apoc. ix. 4. 
6 Math. xxvi. 39. 6 Idem. ' John xx. 5. 



THREE TIMES DELIVERED. 199 

"He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up 
for us all;" 1 secondly, he was delivered up to the Jews by 
Judas, who "from thenceforth sought opportunity to betray 
him;" 2 thirdly, he was delivered up by the Jews to Pilate — 
"Thine own nation and thy chief priests have delivered thee 
up to me." 3 First, he was delivered up through love for 
us — " who hath loved me, and hath delivered himself up for 
me;" 4 secondly, he was delivered up through avarice — "they 
appointed him thirty pieces of silver; " * thirdly, he was de- 
livered up through envy — "for he knew that through envy 
they had delivered him." 6 His Father therefore gave him as 
a gift, Judas as an offering, the Jews as a most pure sacrifice. 
And to recall these three things happening in the passion of 
our Lord, the priest makes these three crosses over the bread 
and wine, 7 saying, "These gifts*!- these *!- offerings, these holy 
*!- sacrifices unspotted," as though he were to say, we offer thee, 
most benign Father, these gifts, this oblation, this holy sacri- 
fice in remembrance of that delivering up of Jesus thy Son by 
thee his Father as a gift, by Judas as an offering, by the Jews 
as an immaculate sacrifice. These offerings, prefigured by the 
sacrifices of Abel in a lamb, 8 of Melchisedech in bread and 
wine, 9 and of Abraham in his son, 10 are continued in a mystic 
manner in the Mass — "That we offer thee." As Moses 
prayed for the Israelites 11 , that the Lord would not destroy 
them; as Aaron prayed for the people of God, that their sins 
might not stand against them; as Christ prayed for his dis- 
ciples 12 , that they might be one as he and his Father are one, 13 
and as now, sitting at the right hand of his Father, he always 
intercedes for us, 15 thus the celebrant, taking upon himself the 
person of that Christ foreshadowed by these great men of old, 
prays for the whole Church 16 that God "may pacify, guard, 
unite, and rule that holy Church throughout the whole world, 
one with our head " the Pope, and our Bishop — giving their 
names; for "prayers and supplications are to be offered up 
for all in high stations." 17 The celebrant says "we pray," for 
the people pray with him to God — that is, to the whole Trinity; 
we pray in the unity of faith, in the communion of saints on 

1 Rom. viii. 32. 2 Math. xxvi. 16. 3 John xviii. 35. 4 Gal. ii. 20. 5 Math. xxri. 15. 
s Math, xxvii. 18. 7 O'Brien. Hist, of the Mass, p. 301. s Gen. iv. 4. » Gen. xiv. 18. 
i° Gen. xxii. y Exod. xxxii. * 2 John xvii. * 4 John. xvii. 21. 15 Rom. viii. 34. 
i° Benedict XIV,, L. II. e. xiii. S. 17 I. Tim. ii. 1. 



200 WHAT WE ASK. 

earth with the saints of heaven, for corporal, spiritual, and 
eternal gifts, for all things necessary for our salvation. 

Second Part. 

Kemember, O Lord, thy servants and handmaids, N. and X., and 
all present, whose faith and devotion are known to thee, for whom we 
offer thee this sacrifice of praise, for themselves and all these, for their 
hope of salvation, and their safety, and render their vows to thee, the 
living, true, and eternal God. 

Here at the letter N" the remembrance of the living is made 
— the names of those for whom the Mass is said, if they be liv- 
ing: for, like the good thief hanging on the cross, who while 
living asked his Lord to " remember him when he came into 
his paradise;" like Jesus dying on the cross, who during the 
sacrifice of himself prayed for the whole world, — thus the 
celebrant remembers the living, those present, their friends and 
relatives, whose faith and devotion are known. 1 If the cele- 
brant be a bishop or a priest having the care of souls given 
him, according to the canons of the Church he is obliged to 
say Mass for those under his care. If he have not the care of 
souls, he can say it for whom he wishes, or for the one who 
gives him the stipend. Here we pray for corporal, spiritual. 
and eternal gifts; and these are hidden in the words of the 
prayer: corporal by the words "their safety;" spiritual by the 
words " for the redemption of their souls;" eternal by the words 
"for their hope of salvation." For our Lord Jesus tells us to 
pray for corporal by "give us this day our daily bread;" for 
spiritual by "thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven;" 
for eternal by "thy kingdom come." 2 Thus we offer this 
most holy sacrifice for temporal things to aid us in this life, 
for spiritual things to help us to gain heaven, for eternal 
things to be our reward in our home beyond the skies. The 
word "vows" here signifies only remotely vows in an improp- 
er sense, but rather pious desires, aspirations and prayers 
which the faithful render to God. 3 

Third Part. 

Communicating and venerating the memory, in the first place of the 
ever glorious Virgin Mary, Mother of God our Lord Jesus Christ, as 
also of thy blessed Apostles and Martyrs Peter and Paul, Andrew, 

1 Benedict XTV.. Cum Semper. 2 Durand, Rationale Div. L. IV. c. xssvii. 
9 O'Brien. Hist, of the Mass. p. 307. 



THE GREAT WOMAN". 201 

James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon, 
and Thaddeus, Linus, Cletus, Clemens, Xystus, Cornelius, Lawrence, 
Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all thy saints, 
by whose merits and prayers grant that we may be aided in everything 
and fortified by their help. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

In the words of S. Syricius, "Communicating and venerat- 
ing the memory" — that is, partaking in the sufferings, afflic- 
tions, and trials of these saints, that we may rejoice with them 
in heaven; venerating the memory of these great saints men- 
tioned, in the first place of the ever glorious Virgin Mary,' 
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose glories as Mother of 
God are proclaimed by the most ancient works of the ages 
near to the times of the Apostles. In the Liturgy of S. James 
she is called "the most holy, immaculate, exceedingly glorious, 
blessed Lady, Mother of God;" in that of S. Basil the Great, 
"the all-holy, immaculate, supereminently blessed, glorious 
Lady, Mother of God;" in that of the Coptics, "above all, the 
most holy, the most glorious, immaculate, blessed Lady of 
ours;" among the Nestorians, "The prayers of the Virgin 
Mother of Jesus our Saviour be to thee at all times a wall of 
defence by day and by night!" and in another place, " Eejoice 
and exult, thou who art full of grace, holy and chaste Virgin 
Mary, Mother of Christ!" Such are some of the titles of that 
wonderful woman taken from the Liturgies and the Mass- 
books of those who separated from the mother of all churches, 
the Catholic Church. 1 

We invoke the name of Mary, of her who brought into 
the world him who is now offered on our altar as a sacrifice; 
we invoke the name of the twelve Apostles who saw him, and 
because they were witnesses of the sacrifice of Calvary, of 
which this is a continuation and a lasting memorial till 
the end of time ; we invoke the names of the twelve first 
martyrs who followed him and gave their blood like him, 
the first great martyr of Calvary's cross ; we invoke these 
like Moses calling on the Lord to "remember Abraham, 
Isaac and Jacob, thy servants;" 2 like Azarias in the fiery 
furnace crying to the Lord, "Take not away thy mercy from 
us for the sake of Abraham, thy beloved, and Isaac, thy ser- 
vant, and Israel, thy holy one." 3 Thus the celebrant prays 

1 O'Brien, Hist, of the Mass, p. 311. 2 Esod. xxsii. 13. s Dan. iii. 35. 



202 HOLDING HIS HANDS. 

to the Lord invoking those clearest to the heart of Jesus, that 
by their prayers and merits we may be aided in everything 
and fortified by their help, through "Christ our Lord. " Thus 
as in the old law the names of "the twelve tribes of Israel 
were engraved on onyx stones, 1 and on the rational were 
twelve stones, and on each stone the name of each of the 
twelve fathers of Israel, 2 thus what happened in the old in 
figures takes place in reality in the new, we have the names 
of the twelve Apostles and the names of the twelve first 
martyrs in the Canon of the Mass. And as the Mass is a 
memorial and a mystic representation of the death of the first 
and greatest martyr of the Christian religion. Christ, and the 
spilling of his blood, thus we mention the early martyrs who 
spilled their blood like him, his Mother also, for her great 
title of Mother of God, and Queen of Heaven. 
Fourth Part. 

Therefore we beseech thee, O Lord, that pleased thou wilt receive 
this offering of our services, and of all thy family; wilt thou direct 
our days in peace, and rescue us from eternal damnation, also command 
that we may be numbered in the flock of tlry elect. Through Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

While reading this prayer the celebrant keeps his hands 
held over the bread and wine to be consecrated into the 
Body and Blood of the divine Victim, like the priests of the 
old law who, before sacrificing their victims, held their hands 
over them. 3 In order to warn the people of the approach of 
the consecration the server rings a little bell at the moment 
the celebrant holds his hands over the bread and wine. 4 In 
this prayer four things are asked : that God would receive this 
offering, that our days may be directed in peace, that we may 
be delivered from eternal damnation, and that we may be 
numbered in the flock of the elect of the Lord. 5 The offer- 
ing here mentioned does not signify the offering of the bread 
and wine made at the offertory, just after the Creed, but the 
offering of the sacrifice of the Body and Blood, that the 
celebrant has in his mind after the consecration of the Ele- 
ments. 6 We ask to be numbered in the flock of the elect, fol- 
lowing the advice of the Apostle, that ••you may make sure 

1 Exod. xxviii. 10. - Exod. xxviii. 01. 3 Levit. i.; Levit. iv. : Exod. xxix. 10. 
* Pousret. Isnst. Cath. t. ii. p. S3S. 5 Benedict XTV.. De Sacrif . Miss, c xiv. 1. s Stia- 
rez. m. P. t. ii. 2 L. xxxiii. A. 4 Desp. S3, sec. e. 




THE CATHEDRAL, AMIENS.. 



THE FIVE CROSSES. 203 

your calling and election." 1 The celebrant keeps his hands 
extended to the end, when closing them in front of him he 
continues the 

Fifth Part. 

Which oblation, we beseech thee, O Lord, that thou wouldst vouch- 
safe in all respects to bless, «►> approve, ■£« ratify, >}* make rational and 
acceptable, that it may become the »J« Body and »J« Blood of our Lord 

Jesus Christ. 

To tell of the price at which our divine Victim was sold, 
the celebrant makes three crosses over the bread and wine, 
for thirty would be too many, and ten multiplied by three 
make thirty; 2 then to remember both the buying and the sell- 
ing the celebrant makes two crosses, one over the bread and 
the other over the wine, saying "that it may become the Body 
and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ." That selling of 
our Lord was, the celebrant appears to say, accursed, forbid- 
den, invalid, wicked, and detestable, but thou, Lord, deign to 
bless, approve, ratify, make reasonable and acceptable the 
holy Victim we are about to sacrifice. For Judas "loved 
cursing and it shall come unto him," 3 "he would not have 
blessing and it shall be far fromliim," 4 but thou, Lord, holy 
Father, deign to bless this oblation, which we will immolate 
to thee. Judas' posterity is cut off, "in one generation may 
his name be blotted out," 5 but thou, Lord, approve this 
sacrifice, by which we may be numbered with the elect; Judas 
"hanged himself with a halter,"- 6 and "his bishopric let 
another take," 7 but thou, Lord, ratify this offering of thy 
holy Son, the price of our redemption. Judas is damned; 
"may he go out condemned and may his prayer be turned to 
sin," 8 but thou, Lord, make this mystic death reasonable, 
and acceptable in thy sight, that it may become the Body and 
Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such are some of the rea- 
sons of these beautiful words explained by the great writers. 

Again the three crosses are made over the offering, because 
at the Last Supper Jesus did three things with regard to 
the bread: he received it, he blessed it, he gave it; and the 
two crosses, one over the bread, the other over the wine, 
reminds us of his words giving the bread: "Take ye and eat, 

* IT. Peter i. 10. 2 Durand, Ration. Divin. L. IV. c. si. 3. 3 Psalm cviii. 13 
4 Ibidem. 5 Psalm cviii. 13. 6 Math, xxvii. 5. 7 psalm eviii. 8, 8 Psalm cviii. 7. 



204 MEAHTOTG OF THE FIVE CROSSES. 

This is my Body:-- 1 and his words giving the wine: "Drink, 
This is my Blood.'- Again these crosses are to recall the three 
kinds of persons to whom Judas sold his Master, the scribes, 
Pharisees and priests, saying, " Bless, approve, and ratify/' 
And to recall the buyer and the seller a cross is made over 
the bread and another over the wine. 

"Blessed,"'" that is, a holy victim, free from every stain of 
sin, either original or actual, mortal or venial; "'approved,"' 
that is, figured in the victims of the Old Testament, in the 
paschal lamb, in 2 Isaac on the mountain, 3 in the lambs of the 
flocks of Abel, 4 for Christ is "the Lamb as it were slain," 
from the beginning of the world; 5 "ratified," that is, not a 
sacrifice to pass away like these of the Old Testament, which 
ceased when the Xew began, but a sacrifice of bread and wiue 
"according to the order of Melchisedech." 6 "Reasonable," 
that is, not a sacrifice of beasts and victims without reason, 
as in the old law. but of a reasonable Being, the body and 
Blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, a sacrifice that 
will cleanse our conscience from dead works. 7 "Accept- 
able," that is, not like the sacrifice of the temple, for "'sac- 
rifice and oblation thou didst not desire," B nor wouldst 
thou receive calves or goats from the flocks of Israel, 3 
but God always receives the sacrifice of the Body and Blood 
of his Son, for can it be anything but acceptable in his sight? 

Again these five crosses, three over the whole offering "and 
one over the bread, the other over the wine, according to 
some writers, signify the sufferings of our Lord in his five 
senses during his passion: in seeing, when the Jews veiled his 
eyes: in hearing, when they mocked him; in tasting, when they 
gave him vinegar and gall: in smelling, when they brought 
him to Calvary, a place offensive from the bodies of victims 
crucified by the Eomans, whence Calvary in Hebrew signifies 
a place of skulls: 10 in his sense of touch, when they nailed his 
hands and feet to the cross. 11 Taking up the bread the cele- 
brant continues the 

Sixth Paht. 

Who, the day before he suffered took bread into his holy and venera- 
ble hands, and with eyes uplifted to thee. O God. his father, giving 

1 Math.xxvi. 06. - Esod. rrii. s Gen. xxii. * Gen. iv. b Apcv. v. 6. « P<alm 
cis. 4. "■ Hebrew? ix. 14. 5 Psal m xx xis. t. ■ Psalm xlix. 9. K Hisrorv of the 
Mass. O'Brien, p. 323. » Benedict XTV . Ench de sacrir Mis? ': 



CEREMONIES OF CONSECRATION. 205 

thanks to thee, he *%* blessed, broke and gave to his disciples, saying, 
"Take and eat ye all of this, For this is my body." 1 

At blessed he makes a cross over the bread. 
Then taking the chalice the celebrant continues the 
Seventh Part. 

In like manner, after he had supped, taking this goodly chalice into 
his holy and venerable hands, also giving thanks to thee, he t%t blessed 
and gave to his disciples saying: Take and drink ye all of this: 

For This is the Chalice of my Blood, op the New and Eter- 
nal Testament: The Mystery of Faith; Which shall be Shed 
for you and for many unto the remission of slns. 2 

At the moment the words "This is my Body" are pro- 
nounced the consecration takes place. During the time the 
celebrant is saying them he leans his arms on the altar to 
steady himself, and bowing down pronounces them in a low 
tone. Immediately he rises, still holding the consecrated 
Host in his hands, he makes a genuflection with one knee 
down to the floor to adore Christ present. He then raises 
the Host above his head for the adoration of the people fol- 
lowing it with his eyes, then laying it on the altar he adores 
our Lord again with another genuflection. 

Taking the cover, called the Pall, from the chalice, he 
takes the latter into his hands at the word of the prayer 
"takes," he makes the sign of the cross over the chalice at 
the word "blessed," then taking the chalice he pronounces 
the words of consecration over the wine. At the end of the 
words of consecration, he places the chalice on the altar and 
makes a genuflection himself, as an act of adoration, he 
raises it up for the worship of the people, then placing it 
again on the altar and covering it with the pall he genuflects 
again. At the raising of the Host and Chalice and at the 
four genuflections of the celebrant, the bell is rung to call the 
people from distractions, and to tell them of the time of the 
adoration of our Lord present in the consecrated Elements. 
At the raising of the Host and Chalice the server lifts up the 
celebrant's chasuble, a custom that comes down from the 
most ancient times, when the chasuble was not open up the 
sides as now, but covered the celebrant entirely like a sack 
with a hole for the head, and the server was obliged to raise 

1 Math. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19. 2 Math. xxvi. 28; Mark xiv. 24; 
Luke xxii. 20. 



. . 



up the sides of the garment, so that the celebrant could get 
his hands out and take the H 

- -v ~:rl= :: . :: ~: __ :: :Lt- ~Zrr :::: "Tills:: 

the Chalice of my Blood." Then follows " of the lew and 
jLTri^;,". _--;_iri:.' 11 _ :- V~ xt-stiuti:- :~_: :.: -; ,= ■ : 1 :,-._ 
:i:irn::::~~iziif ~:,^:: . : :■: :: :_ :- :". ';: :iri :ir ^^ 
Testament began and the Old Testament ceased. The Old 
I e ; aient was to be for a time the Xew fore^f : ; th e Old was 
dedicated at its beginning by the blood of victims sacrificed 
*:.~ 2-1: =r=. 7-1t I. ' ■ .. ■ . :I .: Jt:7_« E.:r:z;-i ::: :l_f 
:. : -- 7:_ :._ : . .- • _._:_.- -~: _ .1: :_:- :r . i.I r.i... 1 Tes- 
tament 79 are used, for this sacrifice. : like thai : 

oease, but to continue to the end of time. The Old Tes- 

-..:..:..-—:.--. ': :-;.\_ ~:'_ :Lt ::!::! :: ":;::_- :: _: ■.:> _I :: 

. • :_:_!: .". _ II: :ri : _ :_f . : 1: ... I v :_ t . . l ; : : " It. 

. Z_: c i; :l_r 7:1:: :..::: ~t_. :_ — .: : L :L : L : 1 



:l_:tT _ L: L:.~t _.:: ::.::_ luini:: — ■; 



-~i: 17 :_: 



le first :nonrii ae- 
nth moon of the 



.."_ . _: : 
.... tenl 



And 

-. .:- 

-. 



E-Illll 

'■•: ilif 2i:^i ri :: ::vi::_: in 

It:::: L ; :lf..:_. 1 : ::._■ :"_r : 
Lth, he celebrated the Pasch 1 _ 

- e of him the Lamb of God whoseTBody we eat 
e Blood we drink. As the Lord said to M On 

: a month, let every man take a lam 
ilies and hou^ . and you shall keep it till the 

h day of this month; and the whole multitude of 
ren of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. And 
ke the blood thereof, and put it on both of the 
; and on the upper door posts of the houses. . . . 
f shall ea: the flesh Thereof that night roaste 
md unleavened bread. ^ Such was the figure of the 

I . . . • An : I 

x> prepare the place where he might ear the Pasch with 
lr=. :....: ::~:: : :.lr '.'_.:._ :_: 1 : : ll:-- . . .::__ 






• i. 



FIGURES OF THE EUCHARIST. 207 

the paschal lamb lie might institute the eating of himself, rep- 
resented by the paschal lamb among the Jews, for he is the true 
lamb of God, represented by that of old. The word Pasch is 
from the Hebrew, signifying the passing of the Lord. 1 Eucharist 
is good grace, 2 or thanks be to God. Viaticum, the Lord is 
with us on the way. Such are some of its names. 

This Body and Blood of Christ was prefigured of old by the 
sacrifice of the bread and wine of Melchisedech, 3 by the bread 
of the first fruits in the tabernacle, 4 by the loves of preposi- 
tion, 5 its change from bread into Flesh and Tfo'm wine into 
Blood by the changing of water into wine at the marriage 
feast, 6 and the multiplication of the loayes and fishes among 
the mountains of Israel. 7 

Again it was typified by the tree of life, 8 by the sacrifice 
of Abraham, 9 by the sacrifice of expiation among the Jews, 10 
and the sprinkling of the blood of the Testament. 11 The 
strength given by it was prefigured by the bread eaten by 
Elias, bread shown him by Angels, "and he arose and eat, 
and drank, and walked in the strength of that food forty days 
and forty nights unto the mount of God, Horeb;" 12 foretold 
again by the vessel of flour that diminished not, but fed the 
widow, 13 but especially by the bread with which' twice the 
Lord fed the people in the desert. Of this food Wisdom 
speaks where he says: " Thou didst feed thy people with the 
food of Angels and gavest them bread from heaven .... 
having all that is delicious and sweetness of every taste." 14 
Let the reader remember what has been said with regard to 
the Eeal Presence and relating to the Eedemption. 

Before consecration the celebrant, taking the Host, and af- 
ter having blessed it, at the words "with eyes uplifted" he 
raises his eyes up to heaven, imitating Christ, who when he 
prayed lifted up his eyes, telling that everything we have 
comes from God, who is the principal and source of all things. 
The words of consecration comes from the Gospels, except 
these parts: "With eyes uplifted to heaven to thee, God, 
his Father Almighty, giving thanks to thee he broke and gave," 
" Eternal Testament," and "the mystery of faith." These are 

1 Durand, L. VI. c. lxxxvi. 4. 2 Schouppe, Theo. Dogmat. VII. p. 203. 3 Gen. xiv. 
18. 4 Levit. xxiii. 17. 5 Levit. xiv. 6 John ii. 7 John vi. : Mark vi. viii. 8 Gen. 
ii. 17. 9 Gen. xxii. 10 Levit. xvi. " Exod. xxiv. 8. 12 III. Kings xix. 8. 13 IV. 
Kings iv. 14 Psalm lxxvii. 24, 25. 



208 THE POWER OF CHRIST. 

not given by any of the Evangelists, but we are certain they 
were used by our Lord, for all that he did are not given in the 
Gospels, and the form of consecration was never changed since 
the time of the first Mass, ' for the Apostles received this form 
of consecration from our Lord. " Giving thanks," for that 
is the Eucharist, a Greek word signifying thanks. He 
" blessed/' that is, with heavenly power, by which the bread 
and wine are changed into his Body and Blood. At that word 
a cross is made over the chalice to signify that this is the con- 
tinuation in a mystic manner of the sacrifice of Christ on 
the cross. As Christ took the bread and wine into his most 
holy and venerable hands, the celebrant, following his ex- 
mple, takes them in his hands, and at the moment of the words 
" This is my Body," the whole substance of the bread is changed 
into the whole substance of the Body of Christ; at the words 
" This is the chalice of my Blood," the whole substance of 
the wine is changed into the whole substance of the Blood of 
Christ, the appearances or species of the bread and wine remain- 
ing whole and entire as they were before the consecration. 2 

The celebrant does not say "this is the Body of Christ," or 
" this is his Blood," but "■ this is my body," " this is the chal- 
ice of my "blood," for the great Consecrator and the supreme 
Priest is Christ himself, and the celebrant is not a priest sep- 
arate from the great High Priest Christ, but acts and works 
by the power given him by our Lord, God co-operating through 
him. They are then the words of Christ, and how powerful 
are the words of the Son of God. " By the word of the Lord 
the heavens were established, and all the power of them by the 
spirit of his mouth." 3 " For he spoke and they were made, 
he commanded and they were created."' By his word a wo- 
man was changed into a pillar of salt, a rod into a serpent, 
fountains of water into blood, and water into wine. And if 
the words of Elias could bring down fire from heaven cannot 
the words of Christ bring down his Body and Blood? Is it not 
much less to change one substance into another than to create 
from nothing? Is it not more wonderful for God to become 
man while remaining God than to change bread and wine into 
his Body and Blood? Does not that change take place every 

1 Extra. De Celebrat. Missae cum Marthae. 2 Counsel of Trent, Ses. Xin. Can. 4 
3 Psalm xxxii. 6. * Ibidem 9. 



WHY HIS FINGERS ARE JOINED. 20£ 

day with the food and nourishment we take? Such then are 
the rites and ceremonies, grand and venerable, by which we 
come to the moment when Christ is present and sacrificed on 
our altars. 

After the consecration the celebrant rises from making the 
genuflection, and extending his hands continues the 

Eighth Part. 

Wherefore, O Lord, we, thy servants, as also thy holy people, calling 
to mind the blessed passion, of the same Christ thy Son, our Lord, his 
resurrection from the grave and glorious ascension into heaven, we offer 
unto thy most excellent Majesty, of thy gifts and donations, a pure «r 
Host, a holy *■ Host, an immaculate * Host, the holy * Bread of everlast- 
ing life, and the >k Chalice of eternal salvation. 

After making the sign of the cross five times at the crosses 
given above, the celebrant extends his hands and continues: 

Upon which vouchsafe to look down with a favorable and serene 
countenance, and to accept them, as thou wert graciously pleased to ac- 
cept the gifts of thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our Patriarch 
Abraham, and that which high priest Melchisedech offered thee, a holy 
sacrifice, an immaculate Host. 

After the consecration, having placed the Chalice on the 
altar and covered it with the pall if a Low, or the deacon if 
a High Mass, the celebrant holds his hands outstretched, with 
his index fingers and thumbs joined together, because they 
touched the Body of our Lord and out of reverence they 
must touch nothing else till the communion.. They are joined 
to prevent any dust falling on the place which held the Host; 
they are joined to signify how our hearts should be joined to 
him who is on our altar so as never to be separated from it. 
Thus standing, with hands outstretched, the celebrant con- 
tinues the Canon. 

In this part of the Mass three things are recalled to our 
minds : his blessed passion, which excites our charity, his 
resurrection, which establishes our faith, his ascension, which 
rejoices our hope. For what excites our charity like that 
death ordained by his Father: " who spared not even his own 
Son, but delivered him up for us all?" 1 What strengthens 
our faith like the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, 2 
and that we too will rise : " as in Adam all die, so also in 

1 Rom. viii. 32. a Bourdaloue Sei\ Pom* le Demanch des Paque. 



210 FIVE CROSSES. FIVE WOtTXBS. 

Christ all shall be made alive ?" a What increases our hope 
more than the ascension of him who " ascending on high he 
led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men/"* s and where he is 
there also his minister shall be. 3 •'•'Whence and we thy ser- 
vants," that is thy priests who minister at thy altar, in thy 
name, and i( thy holy people," that is, remember, Lord, that 
thy Son suffered not only for thy priests and thy clergy, but 
also for thy people, whom thou hast regenerated by thy holy 
sacraments. 

The church by this holy sacrifice, and by these rites and 
ceremonies, remembers and commemorates the passion of our 
Lord, and as the chief suffering of that holy Victim was in 
the five wounds of his hands and feet and side, thus the priest 
makes five crosses, saying, "A pure ►J-Host, a holy •£« Host, an 
immaculate »J« Host, the holy •£« Bread of life eternal, and the 
►J« Chalice of perpetual salvation.** The three first crosses are 
made over both Host and Chalice together, for now the Body 
and Blood are united in Christ, who can die no more ; the 
two last crosses are made over the Host and Chalice separately, 
because the Host and Chalice are mentioned separately, signi- 
fying the separation of his Body and Blood at his death on 
Calvary. 

Again the five crosses have other meanings. The first a: 
pure Host" tells that there lies the pure Victim once nailed 
to the cross ; the second at " holy Host" that there lies the 
holy Victim once offered on the cross : the third at ••immacu- 
late Host," there lies the Victim without blemish, once im- 
molated on the cross : the fourth at "holy" Bread, that is. he 
is the holy bread of life who said, " I am* the bread of ]i: 
who descended from heaven and died on the cross ro give 
you life ; and thefifthat " Chalice of salvation" signifies that 
the Chalice holds the same Blood that was shed for our salva- 
tion on the cross." 

The crosses then all relate to Calvary and remind us of the 
great mystery of the cross, of which the Mass is a lasting re- 
membrance. 6 As it is not possible to do all at once the cele- 
brant spreads out these ceremonies and words, while at the 
same time he has before liis eyes the moment of the sacrifice, 
and all relate to that moment when again, in a mystic man- 

1 I. Cor. xv. 22. 2 Ephes. iv. 8. 3 John xii. 26. * John vi. 4S. 5 Le Brun Explie. 
des Priers et des Cirem. de la Messe, T. ii. p. 232. 6 O'Brien. Hist, of the Mass. p. 339. 



THE FIVE CKOSSES. 211 

ner, Christ is sacrificed to his Father. f^We offer to thy 
glorious Majesty/"' that is, to the Father on his eternal throne 
we offer Christ our Victim, so glorious and transcendent in 
beauty and splendor. " From thy gifts," that is, of the bread 
and wine, the fruits of the earth changed into the Body and 
Blood of Jesus, the fruit of the womb. Of these we offer "a 
pure Host, a holy Host, an immaculate Host," 7 that is, free 
from every sin, original, venial or mortal, for "who will con- 
vince him of sin ?" l 

It is called a "pure Host, a holy Host, an immaculate 
Host," for Christ was born without sin; it is called the " Bread 
of life eternal," for by eating that Bread we are strengthened 
and nourished in this world till we gain everlasting life; it 
is called the Chalice of salvation, because it contains the 
Blood of Christ shed for our salvation. " From thy gifts and 
from thy donations." Gifts are things given us relating to 
eternal happiness, donations are things relating to temporal 
happiness ; for God is the Author of our everlasting as well as 
of our temporal happiness, and this sacrifice is offered in adora- 
tion of him and to testify that all things come from him. 

As he prayed before, that by the power of God the bread 
and wine might be changed into the Body and Blood of our 
Lord, he now prays that while he is offering it to God the 
Father, he might " deign to look down with a favorable and 
kind countenance, and accept this." Xot that God has a 
countenance, or that he changes, but as in the times of the 
giving of the Law of Moses God was said to be angry, and to 
change his countenance toward his peojple, thus, after our way 
of speaking, we pray to him that he might deign to look down 
with a pleasing face; as the psalmist says, may he cause the 
" light of his countenance to shine upon us, and may behave 
mercy on us," 2 and receive this "as thou deigned to receive" 
the gifts of thy just servant Abel, 3 and the sacrifice of our 
patriarch Abraham, 4 and the bread and wine offered by thy 
high priest Melchisedech; 5 that as he received of old these 
sacrifices which were only figures of which the Mass is the 
reality, that he may receive this " holy sacrifice, this immacu- 
late Host." Among all the figures of the old law these three 
more clearly and forcibly recall the mystery of the Mass. For 

1 John viii. 46. 2 Ps. lxvi. 2. 3 Gen. iv. 4. * Gen. xxii. 13. 5 Gen. xiv. 16. 



212 SYMBOLS IN THE BIBLE. 

Abel, the just man, pnfc to death by his brother, 1 tells of Jesus 
put to death by his brethren; that Abel who offered to God 
the firstlings of his flock 2 figures Jesus "first-born amongst 
many brethren;" 3 Abraham leading up his son upon the mount 
to sacrifice him at command of God, tyjrifies God the Eternal 
Father delivering up his only begotten Son to be sacrificed on 
Calvary; Isaac carrying the wood for the sacrifice on his back 
up the mountain, a type of our Lord carrying the wood of the 
cross on his back up the mount of Calvary; Melchisedech, 
priest of the most High without father, mother, or race, with- 
out beginning or end of days, 4 a striking figure of our Lord, 
of whom the prophet cries out, " Who shall declare his genera- 
tion?" Thus Melchisedech, King of Salem, foretold of that 
future greater priest and king, Jesus Christ, the "priest for- 
ever according to the order of Melchisedech" and "King of 
kings," who in the Mass is daily offered "a holy sacrifice, an 
immaculate Host." In Hebrew, Abel signifies passing away. 3 
for as by inspiration his parents called him thus, for he was 
to offer the first of these sacrifices of the old law, which were 
to pass away and give place to the sacrifices of the new law 
lasting forever; Melchisedech signifies the just king, 6 for he 
was a figure of the juster "King of kings," our Lord: Abram. 
that is, the father of height, was changed to Abraham, the 
father of a multitude, because lie was not only the father of 
the Israelites, those who worshipped the true" God, but of a 
multitude of nations, 7 that is, of all those who received the 
true faith of Christ. Melchisedech is said to have had neither 
father, nor mother, nor posterity, that is, these are not men- 
tioned m the Holy Scriptures, so' that he may more truly figure 
our Lord and Saviour. The words of the prayer " a holy sacri- 
fice, an immaculate Host," added by Pope Leo I., relate not 
to the sacrifices of the old law mentioned above but to the sacri- 
fice of the Mass prefigured by the sacrifices of these holy men. 

Nixth Part. 

We humbly beseech thee, O Almighty God, that thou wouldst com- 
mand these gifts to be carried by the hands of thv holv Ansel to thy 
altar on high before the sight of thy divine majesty, That* all of us who. 
by the partaking of this altar, shall receive the most holy •►*•« Body and 

1 Gen. iv. 8. a Gen iv 4 3 Rom y^ 29. « Heb. vii. 3. b Smiths An, Concord, 
of the Bible. 6 Smith's An. Concord, of the Bible. 7 S. Chryst 



A DEEP PKAYER. 213 

<%* Blood of thy Son, may be enriched by every heavenly blessing and 
grace. Tlirough the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

At the moment of beginning this prayer, the celebrant 
joins his hands before his breast and laying the points of his 
fingers on the altar bows down profoundly. At the words 
" the partaking of this altar," he kisses the altar, near the 
Host. Then joining his hands at the word ' ' Body," he makes 
the sign of the cross over the Host, at "Blood" over the 
Chalice, and while saying " enriched with every heavenly 
blessing and grace," he makes the sign of the cross on himself, 
and joins his hands again at " through Christ our Lord. 
Amen." 

Let us understand a little the meaning of this prayer. Man 
alone can scarcely penetrate its depths. l "A hymn being said 
they went out unto mount Olivet .... into a country place, 
which is called Gethsemane .... and taking with him Peter 
and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and to 
be sad. And going a little farther he fell upon his face pray- 
ing. Again the second time he went and prayed, and leaving 
them the third time he prayed, saying the self-same words. 
.... Then he came to his disciples and said .... rise, let 
us go, behold he is at hand who will betray me. And as he 
spoke behold Judas, one of the twelve, came . . . . and forth- 
with coming to Jesus he said, Hail, Eabbi, and he kissed him." 2 

To recall the prostration of our Lord in the garden, the 
priest bows down; to tell of the hands of our Lord spread out 
on the ground, the celebrant spreads his hands on the altar ; to 
bring into our minds the three times our Lord prostrated him- 
self, the celebrant makes three crosses, one over the Host, the 
other over the Chalice and the third over himself. He places 
his hands on the altar as though he would embrace it, telling 
of the embrace of Judas, who betrayed the Saviour; the cele- 
brant kisses the altar for the altar signifies Christ, and the 
kiss recalls the betraying of our Lord with a kiss. 

" Command these gifts to be carried by the hands of thy 
holy Angel to thy holy altar on high, before the sight of thy 
divine Majesty." Who shall penetrate the depths of these 
words? "Who among the people doubts, that at that mo- 
ment of sacrifice heaven is opened at the voice of the priest, 

1 Innocent III., Myster Messoe, cvi. 2 Math, xxvi.; Mark xiv. ; Luke xxii. ; John 
xxviii. 



214 THE. PRAYER EXPLAINED. 

and at that mystery of Jesus Christ choirs of Angels are pres- 
ent, heaven is joined to earth, and the visible and invisible 
worlds are united. " * " At one and the same moment the heav- 
enly nature by the ministery of Angels is raped into heaven, 
united to the mystic body of Christ, and on the altar is seen 
by the eyes of the priest " 2 hidden under the species. 

This prayer is explained in different ways. Some say the 
Angel here mentioned is the Angel appointed by Cod to watch 
over the Mass, as blessed spirits were ordered by Cod to watch 
over the sacrifices of the old law, 3 as a writer in our day 
remarks. 4 Some say the gifts are the vows of the faithful, 
that is, their prayers, supplications, desires and pious works 
carried by the hands of the holy Angel, that is, by the ministry 
of the holy Angels, for they are " ministering spirits," 5 that 
they may offer these in the sight of Cod like the Angel 
Raphael offering the good works of Tobias: "when thou clidst 
pray with tears .... I offered thy prayer to the Lord." 6 
Such are some of the reasons given by one of the Popes. 7 

The Church, then has two altars, one here visible here in 
our church, the other invisible in heaven before Cod's throne. 
From our visible altar on earth, we take the Body and Blood 
of our Lord ; from our invisible altar in heaven, we take the 
benediction and grace of Cod. 8 . 

The Angels then assist at the sacrifice, not to consecrate like 
the celebrant, but to carry our prayers before the throne of 
Cod, 9 like Raphael carrying those of Tobias, or like the Angel 
seen by St. John: "And another Angel came and stood 
before the altar, having a golden censer, and there was given 
him much incense that he should offer the prayers of all the 
saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of 
Cod." 10 

These are the mystic explanations given by the great writers 
of passed ages. The Angel here means our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who is the "Angel of the Creat Counsel," the "high 
priest forever," who offers himself as a sacrifice by the ministry 
of his priest on our altar, on earth, and the celebrant prays that 
the Lord may command that Angel, that is, that the Father 

1 Greg. De Consec. Dis. 11. Quod sit Sanguis. ~ Greg. Dialog, in fine. 3 Gen. 
xxii.; II. Judg. vi. anclxiii.: Luke i. 4 Hist, of the Mass. O'Brien, p. 341. 5 Hebrews 
i. 14. 6 Tobias xii. 12. 7 Innocent III. s Ordo Can. in Exposit. S. Can. Dest. P7. 
" Durand, Rationale, Div. L. iv. c. 44, n. 8. 10 Apoc. viii. 3. 



I]ST AXCIEKT TIMES. 215 

may order his Son our Lord to take that sacrifice from our 
altar on earth and offer it on that altar seen by St. John be- 
fore the throne of Almighty God in heaven. x 

Tenth Part. 

Remember also, O Lord, thy servants and handmaids N. and K. 
who have gone before us with the sign of faith, and sleep in the 
sleep of peace (he joins his hands and prays a little for those whom he 
intends to pray for, then extending them he continues the prayer). To 
them, O Lord, and to all who rest in Christ, we beseech thee to grant 
a place of refreshment, light and peace (he joins his hands and bows 
his head). Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

In ancient times the names of those for whom the celebrant 
intended to pray were mentioned at the letters N. N. Now 
the celebrant does not stop at these letters, but pauses at 
the "sleep of peace" and makes a remembrance of those for 
whom he wishes to pray. The remembrance of the living is 
made before the consecration; here we pray for those whom 
we believe to be in purgatory. The blessed in heaven do not 
need any prayers, the damned in hell cannot be aided by any 
prayers. 2 Should the soul then for whom the celebrant prays 
be in any of these places the prayers offered for it would fall 
into the general treasury of the church; that is, they would 
be added to the merits of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin, and 
of the saints, and are afterwards dispensed to the people 
under the name of indulgences. 3 

How beautiful sounds those words, "the sleep of peace." 
Death was never mentioned among the early Christians, they 
called it "sleep," for the dead arc only resting till the sound 
of the Archangel's trump calls them from the grave. So 
their burial places were called cemeteries — from the Greek, 
signifying a dormitory — or sleeping-places; they called it sleep- 
ing, not burying, for deposing, the word they used, means to 
put away a precious treasure, and the ancient Teutonic word 
the graveyard is Gottes-acker — that is, God's field — for the dead 
are like the seed sown, from which will spring the great har- 
vest on the day of judgment 4 and the gravestone at the resting- 
place of the departed is like the label placed by the gardener 

1 St. Thomas, 3 q. lxxxiii. a. 4 ad 9; Innocent III. Belar. t. ii. Con. lvi. deMis. C. 
24: Suarez III. t. iii. 9. 83. a. 4: Le Brun. t, i.p. 521; De Mis. Paro. p. Ill, C. 10. etc. 
2 Benedict XIV., De Sacrif. Mis. L. II. cxvii. n. 5. 3 Suarez, Desp. xxxviii. S. 8. 
4 O'Brien, Hist, of the Mass, pp. 344, 345. 



216 ABOUT THE DEkD. 

to tell of the seed planted there. This likening of death to 
sleep runs through the whole of Holy Scriptures, for we read, 
"He slept with his fathers/*' "He was gathered to his 
fathers." 

As the celebrant begins to recite this prayer he moves his 
hands before his face, so that they will join at the words 
" the sleep of peace." This movement is to tell of the slow, 
weak acts of the soul about to leave the body, and the hands 
resting joined together of the motionless body after death. 1 

Our holy mother the church prays for her children, both 
living and dead. She prayed for her children living before 
the consecration, during the second part of the canon; here 
she prays for her dead, believing that the Blood so copiously 
shed "for many unto the remission of sins," will fall on these 
suffering souls, now being purged in the fires of purgatory." 
For that reason in ancient times it was ordered that each 
Sunday and feast prayers might be offered for the dead, ac- 
cording to the example given by the early Christians. 3 And 
again it was directed that remembrance of the dead would not 
be made before the consecration, to break up a bad practice, 
and to bring back to Apostolic times those who were chang- 
ing. 4 "Who are gone before with the sign of faith," that is, 
" signed on their foreheads with the sign of the living God." 
And what is that but the sign of the cross, placed on the fore- 
heads of those whom God calls by his grace, signed with chrism 
at their baptism; then they get faith, hope and charity, the 
three great heavenly gifts given by God; then they receive a 
sign by which they are distinguished from those who belong 
not to her sheepfold. Of these St. John heard the number 
where he says, " I heard the number of them that were signed, 
a hundred and forty-four thousand of every tribe of the chil- 
dren of Israel." 6 "And sleep the sleep of peace," that is, in 
the Lord Jesus, for those whose sins are washed in the Blood 
of the Lamb sleep in the Lord, as Israel's inspired prophet 
says, " In peace and in self-same I will sleep and I will rest." : 
Of them the Apostle says: " And we will not have you igno- 
rant brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be 
not sorrowful even as those who have no hope." 8 " To them 

1 0"Brien, Hist, of the Mass, p. 343. 2 Popelnnocent III.. L. v. c. 7. 3 Council 
Gabelon. rle Consecrat. Dist, I. Visum. * Pope Innocent III. Eadem. Dist. De Norain. 
Schr}St. Horn. 69. 6 Apoc. vii, 3. 6 Apox. vii. 4. 7 Psalm iv. 9. s I Thes. iv. 12. 



FOR SINGERS. 217 

Lord, grant a place of refreshment, light and peace," that 
is, may they come from that place of torments and of pain 
into heaven, which is a place of " refreshment and of peace," 
a place of light and of happiness, where "God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes and death shall be no more .... 
for former things are passed away." 1 Here in the prayer 
paradise is called a place of coolness as compared to the fire of 
purgatory, though which they have to pass as the Eoyal Prophet 
says: " We have passed through fire and water." 2 'it is called 
" a place of light," for the fires of purgatory give no light— it 
is a place of darkness. It is called a place of peace compared 
to the sufferings and afflictions of those souls in purgatory. 

They are then in fire, in darkness, and in mental anxiety; 
these are the three kinds of pains which afflict them. 3 Reader, 
pray for the souls of your dead friends, for in the words of St. 
Augustin, "Nor can it be denied that the souls of the dead 
are helped by the piety of the living, when for them the 
sacrifice of the Mediator is offered, or offerings are made in 
the church. But these helped them who while they lived 
they would be able to merit them after their death." 4 

Eleventh Part. 

To us also sinners, thy servants, hoping in the multitude of thy mer- 
cies, wilt thou deign to give us some part and society among the 
Apostles and Martyrs ,with John. Stephen, Mathias, Barnabas, Ignatius, 
Alexander, Marcilinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, 
Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all thy saints; not considering our good 
works, but as a free gift of thy bounty admit us into the company of all 
these saints (joining his hands), through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

At the words "to us also sinners" the celebrant strikes his 
breast and speaks in a loud voice, recalling the confession of 
the good thief on the cross, when he said, "We indeed justly, 
for we received the reward of our deeds;" and he said to Jesus, 
"Lord, remember me when thou wilt come into thy king- 
dom." 5 And Jesus said to him, "Amen I say to thee, this 
day thou shalt be with me in paradise." 6 Again it tells of 
those who returned from the crucifixion, "lamenting and 
striking their breasts." 7 The celebrant strikes his breast once 
to signify that Christ died once for us sinners. 8 "To us also 

1 Apoc. xxi. 4. 2 Benedict XIV., De Sacrif. Mis. L.ii.c. xvii. 3. 3 Benedict XIV., 
De Sacrif. Mis. L. ii. c. xvii. 3. 4 St. Aug. Enchrid de M. Suffrages, c. 109. 5 Luke 
xxiii. 42. 6 Luke xxiii. 43. 7 Luke xxiii. 48. 8 I. Peter iii. 18. 



218 THE NAMES OF SAINTS. 

sinners," for "if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves 
and the truth is not in us," ' "for we have all sinned," and 
the merits of Christ must be applied to our souls by the Mass 
and the sacraments. " Hoping in the multitude of thy mer- 
cies," that is, according to the Psalmist, '"'according to the 
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquities." 2 
" Wilt thou deign to give some part and society among thy 
Apostles and Martyrs?" that is, with God, for he is the reward, 
glory and happiness of all creatures. Here the celebrant 
prays for the possession of God in heaven. And how is 
heaven attained but by the knowledge of God? for "this is 
eternal life: that they may know thee the only true God, 
and Jesus Christ, whom tliou hast sent." 3 But the reward 
that God will give us up there beyond the skies will differ one 
from another/ for as "star differeth from star in glory," 4 
thus will our rewards and glories be according to our merits 
and to our works here below. There, where "in his house 
are many mansions," we will have each one a place and a 
mansion given by God, and as the sun illuminates the planets 
thus will the Son of God illuminate us with his glory. For 
this reward the celebrant prays in the Eleventh Part of the 
Canon. 

" Among thy holy Apostles and Martyrs, John," that is, the 
Blessed John the Baptist, 5 who was beheaded by Herod at the 
request of Herodias; 6 with St. Stephen, the first martyr of the 
New Testament; '' St. Mathias, the Apostle elected in place 
of the traitor Judas; 8 St. Barnabas, friend and companion of 
St. Paul; 9 St. Ignatius, first bishop of Antioch after St. Peter: 10 
St. Marcellinus, priest of Rome; St. Peter, the Exorcist, who 
never advanced farther than Minor Orders: St. Pcrpetua. the 
holy Virgin of Carthage: St. Filieitv, her companion: St. 
Agatha, the Sicilian, martvred under the Emperor Dacius: St. 
Agnes, the young Roman ladv put to death for her faith; St 
Anastasia, burned at the stake during the persecution of 
Dioclesian;" St. Cecelia, natron of church music: such arc the 
holy persons mentioned during the Mass, for thev represent 
the different classes of persons in the Church. Mathias was 

1 I. Johni. 8. a Psalm L. 3. s John xvii. 3. * I. Cor. xv. 41. « Decree of ^ot^. 
of Rites, March. 1S24. « Math. xiv. 8. 7 Actsvii. 8 Arts i. 9 Act* iv. 36. 1C F."«w»- 
hiu-, rsavs he was appointed Bishop of Antioch in the year 69. 1J She was a pupil of 

St. Peter and St. Paul. 



THIS PKAYER EXPLAINED FOR US. 219 

an Apostle, Barnabas one of the Disciples, Alexander a 
Pope, Ignatius a bishop, Marccllinus a priest, Stephen a 
deacon, Peter in minor orders, Felicity and Perpetua mar- 
ried, Agatha, Lucy, Cecelia and Anastasia virgins ] — eight 
men and seven women whose names are mentioned after the 
consecration, for as virtues are typified by the images of the 
graces, thus the eight beatitudes are typified by these eight 
men, and the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost by these seven 
holy women; or to tell that the eight beatitudes and the seven 
gifts of the Holy Ghost are all united in the Man- God Jesus 
Christ, present on the altar after the consecration. 

"Not considering our merits," that is, not treating us 
according to what we deserve, but rewarding us from the 
" bowels of his mercy." Thus God treats us, for " He hath 
not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us 
according to our iniquities," 2 for he shall give us a "good 
measure, and pressed down, and shaken together, and running 
over," 3 into our bosom up there in heaven; celestial gifts and 
rewards^ awaiting us if we serve him faithfully on this earth." 
"Through Christ our Lord. Amen." For not on Apostles, 
or on the Virgin, or on the Saints, or on any creature do we 
depend for our salvation, but on Christ alone, our God. 
Through him alone salvation comes, "nor is there any other 
name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved." 4 
At the words " Through Christ our Lord"" the celebrant joins 
his hands to prepare for the following prayer, called the 

Twelfth Part. 

Through whom. O Lord, good things thou dost always create, *J« sanc- 
tify,*-^ vivify. ^ bless, and give unto us, by him, and with *%* him, and in 
*%< him: let there be to thee, omnipotent *%* Father, in the unity of the 
*%* Ghost, all honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen. 

When the celebrant is about to begin this prayer, he takes 
the Host from the altar and makes the si^n of the cross with 
it three times over the mouth of the Chalice at the word 
"him;" then drawing it from the middle of the Chalice 
towards himself, he makes two crosses at the words " Omni- 
potent Father" and " Holv Ghost." 

6i Through whom, O Lord, thon dost always create;" that is, 

1 Card. Bona Res Liturgic L. ii. c. 14, n. 5. 2 Psalm cii. 10. 3 Luke vi. 38. 4 Acts 
iv, 12, 



220 THIS PRAYER EXPLAINED FOR .US. 

the. Father created and always creates through the Son/ for 
'•'all things were made by him, and without him was nothing 
made that was made;" 2 " good things," that is, all things 
created by God are good. " And God saw all things that he 
had made, and they were very good; " 3 "thou dost always 
create," that is, making creatures from nothing but by his 
word; "thou dost sanctify," that is, dedicating and conse- 
crating all things at their creation to thy honor and glory; 
"thou dost vivify/' that is, infusing life into beings having life, 
as vegetables, animals, men and angels, so that they figure in 
an imperfect manner the life infinite in thyself; " thou dost 
bless," that is, showering graces on angels and on men, 
so that they are capable of knowing, loving and serving thee. 

Again, when " sanctify" is said it means that they may 
be filled with the life of him who is " the way, the truth 
and the life;" " sanctify," that is, made holy by the sacra- 
ments infusing grace into us according to the prayer of our 
Lord for his followers, "Holy Father, keep them in thy 
name." 4 Again, " vivify," that is, let them be filled with life — 
that is, the life of him who is " the way, the life and the truth;" 6 
"blessed," that is, filled with heavenly blessings, the blessings 
of him who at the creation blessed his creatures. 6 At these 
words the celebrant makes three crosses over the Host and 
Chalice, to tell that all things are "sanctified, vivified and 
blessed " by the Holy Trinity, and to tell of the Three in One 
these three crosses are made. 

Thus that we may better penetrate the meaning of this 
prayer let us say that the words "thou dost create" signify 
that this mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ comes from 
bread and wine d aily created by the power of God; "sanctify," 
that is, daily the bread and wine are brought to the altar to be 
sanctified by being changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, 
" vivify," that is, God vivifies that offering of the bread and 
wine by changing it into the Body and Blood of Christ; 
" Thou dost bless and give to us," for through our Lord, God 
gives us that celestial food and drink to nourish our souls.' 

3 " By him and with him and in him." Each time the cele- 
brant says " him" he makes a cross over the Chalice to recall 

i Benedict XIV.. De Sacrif. Mis. L. ii. c. xviii. n.13. » John i. 8. JGea. U. 

4 John xiv. 6. 6 John xvii. 11. « Gen. i. 22; ii. 3. » Benedict XIV., De Mis. Sacrif. 
L. ii. c. xviii. n. 13. 



CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS. 221 

the times when at the third hour of the sixth day of the week 
the Jews cried out, " crucify him;" when at the sixth hour 
the Romans nailed, him to the cross, and when again at 
the ninth hour he cried out with a loud voice and died. 
Thus to recall these three times when our Lord was cruciiied 
by the voice of the people, by the nails of the soldiers, and. by 
his own free will x in separating his soul from his body, the cele- 
brant makes these crosses through " Him" who was crucified 
for us, saying, "sanctify, vivify and bless them" through 
"him." Then to signify the separation of his soul from his 
body 2 he makes two other crosses, saying, "To thee, omnipo- 
tent Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost," for although 
there are three united in Christ, body, soul and Divinity, he 
makes but two crosses, for, at his death, the soul was separated 
from the body, while the Divinity of the Son of God remained 
ever with that body and that soul, even in death; and while 
making all these crosses the celebrant extends his hands over 
the altar like the Saviour, who, by the mouth of his prophet, 
says, " I have spread forth my hands to an unbelieving people/' 3 

Again the three crosses signify and recall to our minds the 
three kinds of sufferings gone through by our Lord in his 
passion: the sufferings of body, mind, and the compassion of 
soul. Of the first the prophet says: "0 all ye that pass 
by the way attend and see if there be any sorrow like to 
my sorrow;" 4 of the second the Lord says: " My soul is sor- 
rowful even unto death;" 5 of the third he says: "Father, for- 
give them, for they know not what they do." 6 To remind us 
of these three states of our Lord during the sacrifice of the 
cross, the celebrant makes these three crosses over the Chalice, 
for the Chalice signifies his passion, for it contains his Blood; 
'and he himself calls his sufferings a chalice: "Father, if it be 
possible let this chalice pass from me. " 7 

Then again the crosses tell of his sufferings in his body by 
wounds, crucifixion and scourging: of his sufferings in his mind 
by sorrow, despondency and fear; of his sufferings in his honor 
by mockery, derision and insults. Such, says a great writer, 8 
is the signification of the three crosses made at the words 
"sanctify, vivify and bless." 

1 Durand, Rationale, Div. L. 2 St. Thomas. 2 quaest. lxxsiii. a. v. ad. 3. s Isaias 
lxv. 2. 4 Lament i., 12. 5 Mark xiv. 34. 6 Luke xxiii. 34. " Math. xxvi. 39. 8 gt. 
Thomas. 



222 FIGURING THE PASSIOX. 

But because only the human nature of Christ suffered — for 
God being by nature infinitely happy cannot suffer — for that 
reason the celebrant makes two crosses outside of the Chalice, 
saying: " To thee, omnipotent Father, in the unity of the Holy 
Ghost, all honor and glory/' 1 Christ then suffered, but not 
the Father or the Holy Ghost; to them be all honor and glory. 
At the words "all honor and glory," the celebrant, holding 
the Host in his right hand oyer the Chalice, and taking the 
latter in his left hand, raises them both up a few inches, that 
with the sacrifice of the Son of God he may honor and glorify 
God the Father and God the Holy Ghost. "Forever and 
ever." At these Avords the Canon ends. Since the beginning 
of the Canon all has been in silence. He now for the first 
time breaks the silence since the words "to us also sinners." 
It recalls the silence and the darkness oyer the earth at the 
time of the crucifixion. Suddenly the silence is broken by 
the celebrant raising his yoice and saying, "Foreyer and 
ever," recalling the time when that great sacrifice was finished>- 
when the dying Son of God cried out with a loud yoice, say- 
ing, "It is consummated," 2 " Father, into thy hands I com- 
mend my spirit, and saying this he gave up the ghost." 3 
Thus the crucifixion was ended, and by these words, spoken 
in a loud tone, the Canon is finished. The celebrant then con- 
tinues the prayer in a tone heard by all the people, the deacon 
and subdeacon come up to the altar, for that voice of the cel- 
ebrant tells us of the voice of the centurion when our Lord 
died, and of the cries and lamentations of the holy women 
and of his followers as they went down from the scene of the 
crucifixion. The deacon and subdeacon coming up to the side 
of the celebrant tells us of Joseph of Arimathea, and of Xi- 
codemus, who went up the Mount of Calvary to take the 
Body of Christ down from the cross. 

And here you will remember that the sacred Body and 
Blood of Christ are raised twice from the altar and placed 
again upon it, for at his passion he was taken twice; the first 
time he was taken by the soldiers and thrown upon the cross 
to be crucified, signified and recalled by the first elevation, a 
moment after the consecration, when the sacred Elements are 
raised up for the "adoration" of the "people: the second - time 

1 Benedict XIV., De 8. Mis. Saerif . L. ii. c. xriii. n. 13. - John x uke xxiii. 4& 



BURYING THE LORD. 223 

when that Body was taken by Nicodemus and placed in the 
sepulchre, recalled and brought into our minds by the second 
elevation, when the celebrant raises the whole Elements at the 
words "all honor and glory." And as when Joseph and the 
holy women laid that Body in the tomb they rolled a great stone 
to the door of the sepulchre, 1 thus the deacon covers the mouth 
of the Chalice with the pall. The deacon and subdeacon then 
stand one after the other, as at the prayers and parts recited by 
the celebrant aloud, showing how they are below the celebrant, 
who in a loud tone at a Low, or sings at a High Mass the 
Lord's Prayer. 

iMatth. xxvii. 60. 



M : ■- -." '———;:-—■ ™ — - 




Mi 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE MASS EXPLAINED. 

reasons of the ceremonies from the lord's prayer to the 

end of the mass. 

The Lord's Prayer. 

Let us pray. Being taught by salutary precepts and formed by di- 
vine teaching we dare to say: 

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom 
come ; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our 
daily bread ; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tres- 
pass against us. And lead us not into temptation. 

But deliver us from evil. Amen. 

THE words " Let us pray. Being taught by salutary pre- 
cepts/' etc., are of the highest antiquity, but we know not 
the author. Like the other parts of the Mass, they are lost in the 
silence of Apostolic times. They go before the prayer taught 
by our Lord, called the Lord's Prayer. It is found in all 
Masses. It is found among the Liturgies of the Greeks and 
the Maronites; in the Mozarabic, the Ambrosian Kites, and 
all Liturgies of the Church, and of those who separated from 
us in the remote ages. 

The Lord's Prayer then follows because it was taught by 
our Lord himself. This custom of saying the Lord's Prayer 
between the consecration and the communion is of the most 
ancient times, and was practised by the Apostles, and they re- 
ceived it from' our Lord. The Lord Jesus instituted the Mass 
when he changed bread into his Body and wine into his Blood, 
and commanded it to be celebrated in his memory. The Apos- 
tles made the ceremonies of the Mass when they pronounced 
the words said by our Lord over the bread and wine and said 
the Lord's Prayer. Such is the teaching of St. Gregory and of 
St. Cyril of Jerusalem, and of many of the early saints and 
writers. 

Thus, reciting the Lord's Prayer in a tone to be heard by 



226 BETWEEX GOD ASD MAX. 

all the people reminds us of the noise of the earthquake, and 
of the dead rising from the grave, coming to life and appear- 
ing to many. Again, it is said not in a low, but in a loud 
tone, because it is apart of the G-ospel, and the Gospel is to be 
"preached to every creature." As Christ after his passion 
returned to his people to console them in their affliction, thus 
the celebrant, after leaving the people and continuing the 
Canon in silence, towards the end of the Mass breaks the 
silence to tell the people, by hearing his words, that he re- 
turns to them again. Although now they no more under- 
stand the Latin language, still that was the meaning in the 
beginning, in the time of the Apostles, when all spoke Latin 
and understood the words of the Mass. 

The celebrant standing between God aud man, the minister 
ordained and chosen to offer the holy sacrifice and plead the 
people's cause before the throne of grace says to the people: 
" Let us pray;" and hopefully and with confidence can we pray, 
when, "Being taught by salutary precepts, and formed by 
divine teaching, we dare to say" that prayer taught by our 
Lord himself; and not our own prayer do we offer unto God, 
but the most excellent of all prayers, the one taught by Jesus 
himself, taught to the Apostles when they asked him how to 
pray. 

These three paragraphs, you will notice, or these three 
prayers, are said aloud by the celebrant; these three. "Being 
taught by salutary precepts," "Our Father," and "But 
deliver us from evil " — these, says an excellent writer, signify 
and recall the three days and nights when our Lord's Body 
was in the grave. 

The Lord's Prayer is the most excellent of all prayers for 
four reasons: the authority of its Author, the shortness of its 
length, the completeness of its requests, and the depth of its 
mysteries. The Author of this prayer is our Lord Jesus 
Christ himself, who taught it first to his Apostles and disciples, 
saying: "Thus therefore sball you pray;" the shortness of its 
length, as he says: " Praying, speak not much;" the sufficiency 
of its requests, for it contains all that is necessary for our lives 
here below; the depths of its mysteries, for the profundity 
of its secrets are "hidden. For we ask here for good things we 
are to attain, for evils we are to shun; for temporal, spiritual 
and eternal happiness; for the avoiding of passed, present and 



SEVEK REQUESTS. 227 

future evils. Of eternal happiness we say, "Thy kingdom 
come;" of spiritual happiness we say, "Thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven;" of temporal happiness we say, 
"Give us this day our daily bread." Eternal happiness 
is asked as our reward, spiritual as our aid, and temporal 
as our help. Of the passed evils we say, "Forgive us our 
trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us;" of 
the present we say, "But deliver us from evil;" of the future 
we say," And lead us not into temptation." Thus the past is 
to be wiped out, the present overcome, the future shunned. 

These seven requests of the Lord's Prayer recall the seven 
words of Jesus on the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do;" "Woman, behold thy Son;" " Behold 
thy mother;" "To-day thou shalt be with me in Paradise;" 
"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" "Father, 
into thy hands [ commend my spirit;" "It is consummated." 
The petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: "Hallowed be thy 
name;" " Thy kingdom come;" " Thy will be done;" " Give us 
this day our daily bread;" "Forgive us our trespasses;" "And 
lead us not into temptations;" "But deliver us from evil." 
And these seven things prayed for according to the Apostle 
are of two kinds; the first relate to eternal life, the last to 
the present life. There are seven beatitudes in heaven; our 
Lord taught his Apostles to ask for these in the seven peti- 
tions of the Lord's Prayer. There are seven deadly sins in us; 
these are to be destroyed by the seven graces given in the 
Lord's Prayer. Thus, mankind is sick, God is the physician, 
man is troubled by these seven deadly sins like so many fatal 
diseases, and the grace of the crucified are to be applied to our 
souls in the Mass; and the Lord's Prayer is said in a loud 
voice so that all may recite it and partake in the grace of the 
Mass — all flowing from the fountains of the crucified Saviour. 

Deliver us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present and 
future, and by the intercession of the blessed and ever glorious Virgin 
Mary, Mother of God, with the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, also 
Andrew, and all thy saints »J« benignly grant peace in our days, that we 
may be helped with the aid of thy mercy, always free from sin, and 
secure from all disturbance. 

Through the same Jesus Christ thy Son. 

Who with thee reigns in the unity of the Holy Ghost. 

For ever and ever. Amen. 



223 TYPICAL CEREMONIES. 

At the words of the Lord's Prayer, "And forgive us our 
trespasses," at a High Mass the deacon and subdeacon make 
a genuflection and go to the altar, where the subdeacon gives 
the paten, the little golden plate which he held in his hand 
since the offertory, or the offering of the bread and wine. 
That paten is always hidden at a Low Mass under the corporal 
on the altar, at a High Mass by the veil on the shoulders of 
the subdeacon, covering it in his hands. That hiding of the 
paten during Mass signifies the hiding of the Divinity of 
Christ during the passion of our Lord; or, held before the 
eyes of the subdeacon, it signifies the blindness of the Jews, 
who would not see in him the Messiah; or, again, it tells us of 
the mysteries of the crucifixion hidden in the sacrifices of the 
Old Law; still again it teaches us of the spiritual blindness 
of those who see not the continuation of the sacrifice of the 
cross in the Mass. At a Low Mass the celebrant takes the 
paten, hidden under the corporal, and the purificator, lying 
on the altar, about the end of the Lord's Prayer, and, after 
wiping the paten with the purificator, he holds the former 
upright in his right hand, and at the words "benignly grant 
peace in our days," he crosses himself with the paten; then 
putting it under the Host at, •'•' helped with the aid of thy 
mercy," he takes the pall from the top of the Chalice, con- 
tinuing till he comes to the words, " Through the same Christ 
our Lord thy Son," when he breaks the Host from top to 
bottom, and laying the half in his right on the altar he breaks 
off a little piece from that in his left and lays the piece in his 
left hand near the other on the altar, holding the little par- 
ticle in his right thumb and finger. At the words "in the 
unity of the Holy Ghost" he unites them, still holding the 
little piece in his right hand, between his thumb and 
finger. 

Let us, reader, see the meaning of these ceremonies. The 
celebrant at a Low Mass, or the deacon at a High, wipes the 
paten, because it is about to receive the Host before it is 
broken. This prayer is called the Embolism, because it is a 
request for the same things as the Lord's Prayer. It is said 
in silence, because it was customary to recite the names of 
many saints here which could not be sung, and ancient writers 
tell us that the silence in which the prayer is said tells us of 



HOLY KITES. 229 

the silence and quietness of our Lord in the tomb, for during 
these three days no preaching was heard in Jerusalem. * 

We ask to be delivered from all evils "past, present and 
future." That grace we ask by the intercession of the Mother 
of our Lord, of Peter, Paul and Andrew, the great Apostles. 
We name here three Apostles only, that we may be reminded 
of the three days and nights during which the Saviour's Body 
laid in the tomb. Still there are other reasons for naming 
these three. Peter, on account of his dignity as Prince of 
the Apostles, Paul, on account of the nations he converted, 
Andrew, on account of his vehement desire of being crucified. 
Again, these three are mentioned in order to commemorate 
the three states of the faithful: Peter when called was married, 
Andrew was a widower, 2 and Paul a virgin. 3 But first of 
them Mary is mentioned in a special manner, because she 
alone was above them, for she was God's Mother. The 
deacon and subdeacon coming up to the altar at the Lord's 
Prayer tell us of the holy women who, buying spices and 
sweet-smelling incense, came to the grave that they might 
anoint the Body of our Lord. 4 The celebrant, making the 
sign of the cross upon himself, signifies the chief priests and 
the Pharisees sealing up the door of the sepulchre after the 
burial, "sealing the stone and setting guards," 5 and the sub- 
deacon putting away the veil with which he covered the paten 
tells us of the linen seen by the Apostles, folded and laid 
away after the resurrection. 6 

The celebrant at a Low, or the deacon at a High Mass, un- 
covers the Chalice by taking the pall from its top, before the 
breaking of the Host. Here the mouth of the Chalice recalls 
the door of the tomb, the pall the stone rolled to the door, 
the celebrant or deacon taking the pall from the mouth of the 
Chalice the Angel rolling the stone from the door of 
the tomb at the resurrection of Christ. 7 The Host laid on the 
paten recalls the Body of Christ laid on the stone slab in the 
grave after the custom of the Jews. The celebrant breaks 
the Host over the mouth of the Chalice, so that if some of 
the particles fall they will be received in the Chalice. The 
Host is taken from the altar and broken, for in the taber- 



i Durand. Rationale Div. L. iv. c. xliv. 3. 2 St. Chrystome. 3 Mark. xvi. 1. 4 Math. 
xxvii. 66. 5 John xx. 5. 6 Math, xxviii. 2. 7 Math, xxviii. 2. 



230 THE PEACE OF GOD. 

nacle the loaves of proposition bread were taken from the 
altar and broken before being eaten; it is broken, for thus did 
our Lord at the last supper, when he took bread and broke 
and gave to his disciples, saying, "Take ye and eat This my 
Body/' thus, following the divine example, the celebrant 
breaks the Host ; it is broken into three parts to remind us 
of the Holy Three in One, the Trinity ; to tell us again of 
the three states of the sacred Body of Christ, first living 
among men, then laid dead in the tomb, now reigning in 
glory in heaven; again the Host is broken in three" parts in 
remembrance of the three places where it was woundeol on 
the Cross, in his hands, feet and side ; or to remind us of the 
three states of the people of Christ's church, his mystic body, 
his people on the earth, in purgatory and in heaven. There 
the whole Christ is in four parts, the Host in three pieces, 
and the blood in the Chalice, because at his death he was 
divided into four, his soul, Body, Blood and the water from 
his side. 

Holding thus the little particle between his thumb and fore- 
finger, the celebrant interrupts the silence by saying in a loud 
voice, 

Forever and ever. 

The server replies, 

Amen. 

This breaking of the silence recalls to our minds the noise 
of the trembling of the earth, when our Lord rose from the 
dead. Holding the particle over the mouth of the Chalice, 
the celebrant, making three crosses, as marked below, saying: 

The *%* peace of the Lord *J« he ever with *%» you. 

He drops the particle at the last word, "you," saying: 

May this union and consecration of the Body and the Blood of our 
Lord Jesus Christ be to us who receive it life everlasting. Amen. 

The little piece, dropped into the Chalice so as to be united 
with the Blood, tells us of the Body and Blood of Christ, 
united at the moment of the resurrection. The words, " The 
peace of the Lord be always with you," tell us of the words of 
our Lord when he appeared to his disciples after his resur- 
rection from the dead and saluted them with the words, 
"Peace be with yon." 1 Peace is the obedience and submis- 

1 John xx. 19. 



FIGURING THE RESUEKECTION. 231 

sion of the lower to the higher in all the ranks of creatures. 
There is peace in us when the lower powers are subject to our 
higher power reason. There is peace in the family, when all 
are obedient to the head. There is peace in the nation when 
all are subject to the government. There is peace in the 
world when all nations are subject to their agreements. There 
is peace in the universe when all creatures are subject to God 
their Creator. Thus peace is. the obedience of the lower to 
the higher. Such is the meaning of the word " peace." To 
give peace to the world he died; to show us how to be subject 
he came; to give peace to these spirits in prison he descended 
into hell; to give peace to his Apostles he appeared to them 
twelve times after his resurrection ; to give peace to his peo- 
ple he is sacrificed every day in the Mass upon the altar; and 
rightly, then the celebrant says, "Peace be with you." When 
a bishop celebrates, he says " Peace be with you" many times 
during the Mass, for he figures in a more perfect manner that 
other more perfect Bishop, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Saying these words he makes three crosses over the mouth 
of the Chalice with the Host, by this telling the people to re- 
member the three days and nights during which the Saviour's 
Body rested in the grave. To these words the choir or the 
server replies, " And with thy spirit;" that is said in the name 
of the people who pray that the Holy G-host may come down 
and dwell with peace in the heart and soul of the celebrant. 

The little particle is then dropped into the Blood, to show 
that the soul and Body of Christ united at the resurrection; 
to show that although the Body and Blood are separated, still 
there are not two Sacraments or two Sacrifices, but one; or, 
that the Body in the grave was not without some Blood in its 
veins. It tells above all of that stupendous work of a dead 
man raising himself from the grave. Others have risen from 
the dead, but they have risen by the power of another. 1 It was 
reserved for our Lord, " free among the dead," 2 to raise him- 
self from the dead by his own power before his Body saw cor- 
ruption. Of that the prophet foresaw, when he cried out, 
"Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor wilt thou give thy 
holy one to see corruption." 3 

The prayer, "May this union," etc., is said for the cele- 

» Bourdaloae. 2 Psalm xv. 10. s John i. 29. 



232 "THE LAMB OF GOD." 

brant, and for all those who receive Holy Communion. For 
communion is the partaking of, and the participating in, the 
Body and Blood of Christ, and the celebrant prays that he 
may be united to him in the Sacrament, and that he may re- 
ceive him unto eternal life. 

The moment John the Baptist saw our Lord, he cried out, 
" Behold the Lamb of God; behold him who taketh away the 
sins of the world." * When the risen Saviour appeared to his 
apostles after his resurrection, he said, " Whose sins you shall 
forgive they are forgiven them." 2 Who, then, is this Lamb of 
God but Christ who forgives sins ? the Lamb prefigured in 
the sacrifices of the lambs of the old law told of " Christ 
our Pasch who was immolated" 3 for us; that is, who was pro- 
figured by the eating of the paschal lamb. With truth, then, 
does the celebrant say: 

Lamb of God, who taketli away the sins of the world, have mercy 
onus. 

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy 
on us. 

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, grant us peace. 

The word for Lamb in the ancient Greek signifies pure, so 
aptly telling us of the most pure Victim offered on the cross 
for us sinners and for our salvation. Lamb, that is pure, for 
the sacrament of the Body of Christ and of his Blood makes 
us pure, for it is "the wine germinating virgins." 4 

The "Agnus Dei" or "Lamb of God" is said three times, 
for Christ came for three reasons. First, that he might de- 
liver us from the guilt of sin; secondly, tbat he might teach 
us how to live; thirdly, that he might open to us heaven. 
For this the prophets cried out for the coming of the desired 
of the nations: "Send forth, Lord, the *Lamb;" 5 of him it 
was said in heaven, "This is the Lamb that was slain'' from 
the beginning of the world; 6 of him the Baptist cried out 
"Behold the Lamb of God;" 7 and to signify these three rev- 
elations of the Lamb slain on the cross the celebrant says 
twice, "Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, 
have mercy on us;" and to tell of the times when our Lord after 
his death, when by that death he gave peace to the Avorld, of 
how he appeared to his disciples saying, "Peace be with you," 

1 John xx. 23. 2 I. Cor. v. 7. 3 Isaias xvi. 1. * Apoc. v. 12. 5 John i. 29. « Joel 
ii. 17. 7 Luke xviii. 13. 



FOE THE DEAD. 233 

the celebrant says the third time, " Lamb of God, who taketh 
away the sins of the world, grant ns peace." 

Have mercy on us does not differ from the prayers of the 
Jewish temple in the times of the prophets, when the priests 
and the Lord's ministers stood weeping between the porch 
and the altar crying out, 

" Spare, Lord, 

Spare thy people, 

And give not thy inheritance to reproach." * 

Twice the celebrant says, "Have mercy on us," and the 
last time he says " Grant us peace." The two " Have mercy 
on us," relate to our souls, for sin is on the soul. The last 
" Grant us peace," relates to bodily affairs, for discords, and 
contentions, and wars relate to bodily afflictions. At the 
words "Have mercy on us," the celebrant strikes his breast, 
for that is the ancient custom of showing repentance for sin. 
Thus we read that the publican stood afar off, striking his 
breast, saying, "0 God, be merciful to me, a sinner;" 2 and 
that when our Lord died the holy people went dow r n the 
mount of Calvary, "lamenting and striking their breasts:" 3 
thus it comes from the customs of the Old Testament, and 
the church never changed it, but uses that as a sign of inter- 
nal sorrow and repentance for sin. 

The Chalice is covered, because from the moment the wine 
is poured into it till the consecrated Blood is taken it must 
be covered to exclude dust, or anything falling into it. Being- 
covered at this time, says an ancient writer recalls the risen 
Christ passing through the walls of the house and appearing 
to his Apostles. 

At a Mass for the dead the celebrant says: 

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, grant them rest. 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, grant them rest. 
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, grant them ever- 
lasting rest. 

The prayer is thus changed, because the sacrifice is offered 
for those who are suffering in the fires of purgatory. The 
celebrant does not strike his breast, because he is not asking 
forgiveness for sin. He calls three times on the Lamb of 
God, for he prays for three things: that these good souls may 

1 Luke xxiii. 48. 2 Luke xviii. 13. 3 Joel ii. 17. 



234 PEACE BE WITH YOU. 

be delivered from where there is labor but no rest; that they 
may possess glory, for then they will have what they desire — 
the sight of God; v and that they may possess their glorified 
bodies, when they will again be complete according to their 
nature. The first request is that they may be delivered from 
their pains, the second the glory of heaven, the third is these 
everlasting, of that rest and glory with their clarified bodies 
in heaven. Thus the celebrant asks for them rest from suffer- 
ing, rest in heaven, rest in eternity, saying, " Give them rest," 
"Give them rest," "Give them everlasting rest." 

When our Lord appeared to his disciples he said each time, 
" Peace be to you;" then breathing on them he said, " Eeceive 
ye the Holy Ghost: whose sins you, shall forgive they are for- 
given them, and whose sins you shall retain they are re- 
tained." Thus he gave his Apostles the power of binding or of 
loosing, of forgiving or of retaining sins. Some writers say 
this is figured by the kiss of peace given after the Lamb of 
God. But in former ages of the church, all the people 
received the Body and Blood of Christ during Mass, and in 
order to show that the difficulties among each other were for- 
gotten, they embraced each other and saluted one another 
with a holy kiss. l That is, they placed their hands on each 
others shoulders, and putting their cheeks together, the one 
who received the peace and was giving it to the other said, 
"Peace be with you," the other replying, "And with thy 
spirit." But these were days of faith and piety. In the lapse 
of time the fervor of the people diminished, the sexes were 
no more separate as before, they did not receive Holy Com- 
munion daily as in olden times, and the custom of giving the 
"Pax" to the people on account of the dangers of temptation 
went out of use, while we see its vestiges to-day in the semi- 
naries and among the clergy — when they assist at High Mass 
in large numbers they give the kiss of peace. 

At the preaching of the Apostles the faithful met daily "in 
breaking bread." 2 That is, they daily received the Holy Eucha- 
rist, then only on Sunday, 3 in after ages once each month, till 
in after centuries they could be got to go with difficulty during 
the year, or postponed it to an indefinite time; thus they grew 
cold, till at length the Church made a law obliging all to 

1 Cardinal Bona. - Acts ii. 46. 3 Be Consecrat. Bist. ii. Quotidie. 



THE KISS OF PEACE. 235 

receive at least once each year. That is the law in force at 
the present time. 

Innocent I. gave directions that the kiss of peace should be 
given only in the church, and at that time it was not danger- 
ous, for the early Christians, following the customs of the Jews, 
were divided, the men on one side of the church, the women 
on the other. Pope Leo II. gave certain instructions relating 
to the reasons why it is given. 1 

The kiss of peace is never given at a dead Mass to signify 
that the souls of the dead are no longer subject to the condi- 
tions and changes and miseries of this life. The kiss signifies 
union, charity, peace, repentance and reverence. For that 
reason the Holy Spirit says, " Let him kiss me with the kiss 
of his mouth;" 2 that was the kiss of love. The dying Isaac 
said, " Come near me and give me a kiss, my son;" 3 that was 
the kiss of charity. The Apostle, writing to the Christians of 
Corinth, says: " Salute one another in a holy kiss;" 4 that was 
the kiss of peace, a ceremony of the Mass, as among us. Our 
Lord said to Simon Peter: " Thou gavest me no kiss, but she, 
since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet;" 5 that was 
Mary Magdalen's kiss of repentance. Esther kissed the top of 
the king's sceptre; 6 that was the kiss of reverence. Such are 
some of the meanings of the ceremonies of the kiss of peace. 

The ceremony of the kiss of peace takes place after the 
first of the following prayers, said in silence by the celebrant 
bowed down before taking the Communion. 

After saying the "Lamb of God" the celebrant, bowing 
down, and putting the points of his fingers on the edge of 
the altar, recites the three following prayers. The first relates 
to the peace left to the Apostles by our "Lord. The second to 
the death of Christ vivifying all men. The third to the com- 
munion of the celebrant In Masses for the dead the first is 
omitted, for that relates to this world and the peace we have 
here, while the person being dead is beyond the peace of this 
world. 

_ Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst to Thy apostles, I leave you peace, I 
give you my peace ; regard not my sins, but the faith of Thy Church ; 
and grant her that peace and unity which is agreeable to Thy will: who 
livest, etc. Amen. 

1 De Consecrat. Dist. ii. Pacem. 2 Cant, of Cant. i. 1. 3 Gen. xxvii. 26. * I. Cor, 
xvi. 20. 5 Luke vii. 45. 6 Esther v. 2. 



236 THE COXMUlTIOir. 

Lord Jesus Christ. Son of the living God, who, according to the will 
of Thy Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by 
Thy death given life to the world; deliver me. by this most sacred body 
and blood, from all my iniquities, and from all evils : make me always 
adhere to Thy commandments, and never suffer me to be separated from 
Thee: who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of, etc. 
Amen. 

Lr: not the participation of Thy body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which I, 
though unworthy, presume to receive, turn to my judgment and condem- 
nation : but through Thy mercy may it be a safeguard and remedy, both 
of soul and body. Who with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy 
Ghost, livest and reignest God forever and ever. Amen. 

While saying these prayers the celebrant, holding the tops 
of his ringers on the edge of the altar, bows down profoundly 
till the end, then rising he genuflects with his right knee, and 
taking the Host in his right hand he puts the paten under it, 
keeping it there with his ringers, and striking his breast says, 
at the moment he takes the Host, 

I will take the celestial Bread and "I will call on the name of the 
Lord. 

Then holding the Host and paten under it, with both over 
the altar, he strikes his breast with his right hand three times, 
saying each time, 

Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but 
only say the word and my soul shall be healed.' 2 

Lord. I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but 
onlv sav the word a ad my soul shall be healed. 

Lord* I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but 
only say the word and my soul shall be healed. 

Then taking the both parts of the Host between the thumb 
and index of his right hand, he makes a cross over himself, 
saying," 

Slay the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ guard my soul into eternal 
life. Amen. 

Pausing a little till the Host is dissolved and swallowed, he 
moves the Chalice a little toward the tabernacle and gathers 
with the paten the little particles or crumbs of the Host which 
may have fallen on the corporal: he rubs them off the paten 
into the Chalice. Then holding the paten with his left he 
takes the Chalice in his right, saying, 

i Psalm cxr. 13. 2 Math. viii. S. 3 Benedict XIV. DeSaerif. Missae. L.ii. c. xxi. n. »'• 



COMMUNION RITES. 237 

What shall I render to the Lord for all things that he has rendered to 
me? 1 I will take the Chalice of Salvation, and I will call upon the 
name of the Lord. 2 Praising, I will invoke the Lord, and Iwill be saved 
from my enemies. 

Making the sign of the cross on himself as with the Host, he 
says, 

May the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ guard my soul into eternal 
life. Amen. 

He now drinks the consecrated Blood from the Chalice. 

Let us see the meaning of these ceremonies coming from the 
Apostles. 3 The celebrant takes the Host from the paten and 
consumes it. That is one of the old rules of the Church; 4 
the celebrant must consume the Elements used in the holy 
sacrifice. If there be people to receive communion, they 
receive from a holy vessel called the Ciborium, from particles 
consecrated at this or at any other Mass. The celebrant or a 
priest only can give Communion; a deacon has the power, but 
it cannot be exercised except by the permission of the authori- 
ties of the Church. The celebrant takes and consumes from 
the Elements used in the sacrifice, for in the ceremonies of the 
old law, which prefigured our Mass, the priests, who were 
types of our priests, took and eat of the sacrifices of the taber- 
nacle and of the Jewish temple, 5 for we read that they took 
of the bread offered to the Lord, and also that Jesus eat of the 
bread at Emmaus. 6 

At Masses said by the Pope, who sits on a high throne, the 
sacred Elements are carried to him, 7 because at Emmaus 
Christ partook of food before his disciples. And because the 
Pope is the head of the church on earth, and vicar of him 
who is the true head of all in heaven, Christ, 8 thus he com- 
municates in a special manner in a high place. This is to show 
the different distinction between the various grades of clergy- 
men: first the celebrant receives, for he more perfectly per- 
sonifies Christ ; then the other members of the clergy, accord- 
ing to their rank. The celebrant, before taking the holy 
Communion, must recite these prayers, the meaning of which 
appears and the words of them come down to us from the 
early ages, and from the institutions of the Holy Fathers of 

1 Origen, Horn. V. ad Aliquot Evang. Loca; St. Chrystome, Horn, de St. Thoma 
Aport. 2 Psalm cxv. 12. 3 Psalm cxv. 13. 4 Council of Nice, 93 Dist. Pervenit. 
5 Levit. x. 12, 13. 14. * Luke xxiv. 43. 7 Rocca. t.i. p. 10. 8 Ephes. v. 23. 



238 THE PEOPLE "RECEIVING. 

the Church. Then pausing a little the celebrant, before Com- 
munion, taking the Host says: 

" I "will take the heavenly bread and I will call on the name of the 
Lord." 

He makes a cross on himself, for what is that Host but the 
Victim sacrificed on the cross ; he leans his arms on the altar 
to recall that olden custom they had at the time of Christ, of 
eating while reclining or lying on couches ; he rises and medi- 
tates on the mystery of eating the Flesh of the Son of God and 
of partaking of the true Paschal Lamb, our Lord; he says, in 
the words of Israel's Prophet King, "What will I return to 
the Lord for all that he has given to me?" The moment he is 
about to take the Chalice at a High Mass, the deacon takes off 
the pall from the mouth of the Chalice, or at a Low Mass the 
celebrant does that himself; they all genuflect to adore Christ 
present, whole and entire with his Blood. While the celebrant 
takes the consecrated Blood from the Chalice the deacon and 
subdeacon bow down profoundly to adore our Lord, and to 
make a spiritual communion, by desiring to receive him in 
their hearts. 

If there be persons to receive holy Communion, they now 
go up to the sanctuary railing, while the deacon sings at a 
High Mass, or the server recites at a Low one, the prayer, 

I confess to Almighty God, etc. 

The deacon at a High, or the celebrant at a Low. Mass 
opens the tabernacle where the Host is kept and genuflects, 
then he takes off the cover and genuflects again to adore 
Christ there present. While this is going on the people who 
are to receive should make a hearty act of contrition and of 
sorrow for their sins. When the ciborium, the vessel in which 
the Host is kept, is opened after another genuflection is made, 
the celebrant turns around and says: 

May Almighty God have mercy on you and forgive you your sins, 
bring you into life everlasting. Amen. 

Making the sign of the cross over them he says: 
May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant you forgiveness, absolu- 
tion and remission of all your sins. Amen. 

The " Amen" in both cases is said by the deacon or the 
server. After the Communion, the Host contained in the 
Uiborium is returned to the tabernacle with a genuflection 



JOY A^D CONSOLATION". 239 

before the cover is put on, and before the door of the tabernacle 
is closed. 

The celebrant then reaches the Chalice to the deacon or 
server, who pours a little wine in it with which to wash away 
the remains of the precious Blood. 1 Then the celebrant, 
placing his thumbs and index fingers over the Chalice, goes to 
the corner of the altar, where the deacon or server pours wine 
and water over them, to wash the places which touched the 
holy Body of Christ. 2 And all this was prefigured in the old 
law where, after the sacrificing of the red cow, the priest 
washed his vestments and was unclean until evening. 3 

These three washings of the fingers — before beginning Mass, 
before the consecration, and at tlie end — recall the washing of 
the soul from the sins ef thought, word, and deed, or the 
wiping out of original, venial and mortal sins by the waters 
of baptism which Christ commanded to be given "in the 
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;" 4 
these Three are recalled by these three washings. "He that 
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but be that believeth 
not shall be condemned." 5 Thus we so often use these forms 
and figures to show how necessary is the rite of baptism. 
Some writers say the first washing of the hands signifies the 
washing of Pilate's hands before he condemned our Lord, say- 
ing, "lam innocent of the blood of this just man." 6 Thus 
from ancient times comes down to us that ceremony of the 
washing of the hands, to signify innocence of soul. 

Before taking the wine, first poured into the Chalice, the 
celebrant says: 

May what we have taken with our mouth be received with a pure 
heart, that thy temporal gifts may be to us an eternal remedy. 

When, taking the wine and water with which his fingers 
were washed, the celebrant says: 

May thy Body, O Lord, which I have received, and thy Blood, which 
I have drank, adhere to my bowels, and grant that the stain of wicked- 
ness may not remain in me, whom the pure and holy sacraments have 
nourished. Who liveth and reigneth forever and ever. Amen. 

The meaning of these prayers appears from the words. 
They show joy and consolation for having been nourished 

1 Innocent III., De Celebrat. Missae Ex parte St .JThomas 3q. lxxxiii. a. 3. 2 Ga- 
vantus Rubricae Missae. 3 Numbers xix. 1 to 9. * Math, xxviii. 19. 5 Mark xvi. 
16. 6 Math, xxvii. 24. 



240 THE BIBS9 CHEIST. 

with the Body and Blood of oui Lord. In the first ages of 

the Church, the Christians always received Commumon each 
day. 1 and their joy and consolation showed itself in songs and 
hymns of praises to the Lord, recalling the happiness of the 
A] sties and disciples after the resurrection of the Saviour, for 
'•'The disciples therefore were glad, having seen the Lord;" 2 
they rejoiced, for the time was fulfilled, foretold by the proph- 
et, when " the poor shall eat and shall be filled, and they shall 
praise the Lord." s That was the time when the disciples 
came back from Emmaus: "'And they told what things were 
done in the way and how they knew him in the breaking 
of bread:" 4 "And they were always in the temple praising 
and blessmg God.'*' 

During these ceremonies the subdeacon purifies and covers 
the chalice and carries it to the side table, so that it may ; 
out of the way. At a Low Mass the priest arranges the c'hal-- 
ice himself and puts it in the middle of the altar, covering :: 
with the veil. Then the book is moved back to the left :: 
epistle side of the altar. In the beginning we told you, read- 
er, that the left or epistle side of the altar signified the Jews, 
and that the right side tells of the and to recall 

the word of Cod, that is his revelation, being taken from the 
Jews and given to the Christians, the book is m -;- i from the 
left and placed on the right of the altar. Now, toward the 
end of Mass the book goes back to the left, signifying bv 
that the fulfilment of the prophesy. 5 that toward "the* end of 
the world the Jews in great numbers will be converted to the 
faith. 

The celebrant then goes to the book and reads the few lines 
called the Communion, for after the resurrection of our Lord 
he preached to his disciples and opened to them the mysteries of 
the Scriptures; then the celebrant goes to the middle of the 
altar and, kissing it, turns to the people and says: "The 
Lord be withy::.."' signifying the words with which the : 
Saviour saluted his followers when he appeared to them after 
his resurrection, saving, ••'Peace be to you.'" Such is the 
salute of the bishop saying Mass, for he more perfectly repre- 
jnts the Lord our Saviour. 



: 89. s Psalm xxi. "77. * Luke xxiv. 35. s Isaias :■: - 
• John xx. 13. 



THE EKD OF MASS. 241 

The Communion for Easter is as follows: 

Christ our Pasch is sacrificed, alleluia; therefore let us feast with the 
unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. 

Then going to the middle of the altar and kissing it lie 
turns to the people and says: 

The Lord be with you. 
And with thy spirit, 

answers the choir or server of the Mass. 

The salute, " The Lord be with you/' said by the priest, or 
the "Peace be with you," said by the bishop to the people, 
is not said till this prayer has been recited in a low tone of 
voice, when the celebrant returns from the book. "The Lord 
be with you," or " Peace be with you," what do they signify 
but the Holy Spirit who is now in the world? What do they 
mean but Him, the Spirit of peace and of truth, now abiding 
with us " all days, even to the consummation of the world"? 
Then going again to the left corner of the altar, the celebrant 
tells us of the time, towards the end of the world, when the 
Lord will send his grace again to convert the Jewish race 
from the error of their ways, and lead them to the Church. 

The celebrant then reads the prayer called the Post Com- 
munion. 

Bowing to the tabernacle and spreading his hands as usual, 
he says: 

Let us Pray. Pour into us, O Lord, the Spirit of thy charity, that 
those whom thou hast filled with the Paschal sacraments, thou wilt make 
us agree in piety. Through the Lord Jesus thy Son, who with thee liveth 
and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. 
Amen. 

This prayer, the secret and the prayer at the beginning of 
the Mass change each day. 

The celebrant then goes to the middle of the altar; bowing 
down and kissing it he turns to the people and says: 

The Lord be with you. 
And with thy spirit. 
Go, the dismissal is at hand. 
Thanks be to God. 

Tins is the real end of the Mass. At these words the cele- 
brant directs his voice to the people by turning to them. At 
a High Mass when the celebrant says " The Lord be with you," 



242 THE BLESSING. 

the deacon turns and sings in a solemn tone the words, ei Go, 
the dismisal is at hand." 

In times of public penance, as during Advent and Lent, 
the way of dismissing the people is, " Let us bless the Lord." 

That is the remains of the ancient customs, when the peo- 
ple had great fervor, when they used to remain in the church 
long after Mass to pray. Sometimes the clergy used to read 
the Bible or the Psalms, or Vespers followed directly after 
the services. To-day we see the remains of these old customs 
in the " Let us bless the Lord" said in times of penance and 
on Easter Saturday, when the Vesper hymns follow after 
Mass. 

The rule is that when the " Glory be to God in the highest" 
is said, the Mass should end with " Go, the dismissal is at 
hand." At Masses for the dead the ending is, "May they 
rest in peace," because there is a ceremony over the corpse 
given in the Chapter on Funeral Ceremonies. In ancient 
times, when the ground around the church was the burial 
place of the dead, the clergy used to go to their graves outside 
the church, and perform over their resting place the funeral 
Rites and offer prayers for the repose of their souls. Kow, 
since the custom of haying the burial places away from the 
church, the Eites and Ceremonies are performed around a cat- 
afalque raised before the altar. 

When the " Go, the dismissal is at hand" has been said, the 
celebrant turns to the altar again, and laying the points of his 
fingers on the altar, and bowing deeply before the tabernacle, 
he says the following prayer: 

May the ministry of my serving please thee, O Holy Trinity, and 
grant that the sacrifice which I unworthy have offered before the eyes of 
thy divine majesty be acceptable to thee, and to me, and to all those for 
whom, through thy mercy, I have offered it may it be propitiatory. 
Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Then kissing the altar he raises his hands toward heaven, 
then brings them together, saying: 

May Almighty God bless you. 

Then turning around to the people and making the sign of 
the cross over them he continues: 
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 



THE LAST GOSPEL. 243 

At the words " Father, Son and Holy Ghost," he makes a 
large cross over the people. 

When a bishop is present it is his right to bless the people. 
In former times the bishop always gave the benediction, and 
blessed the people when present at the Mass. Now the custom 
for many centuries has prevailed of the priests giving the bene- 
diction at the end of Mass, and that by the tacit consent of the 
bishops. The priest makes only one cross, 1 the bishop three: 
one at the Father; one at the Son, and one at the Holy G-host. 
Abbots can also give the blessing with three crosses. 2 This 
custom of blessing the people at the end of Mass is of the 
most ancient times, for, says a writer of the most remote an- 
tiquity, "The Episcopal blessing the bishop Martial, a dis- 
ciple of the Apostles, brought from the teachings of the Apos- 
tles." 3 It signifies the time when our Lord went with his 
little band of followers to Mount Olivet, and "When he led 
them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he 
blessed them. And it came to pass whilst he blessed them lie 
departed from them and was carried up into heaven." 4 This 
blessing then reminds us of our Saviour blessing his followers 
before he ascended into heaven. -^ 

The celebrant then turns and recites the Gospel. If it be a 
Sunday in Advent or Lent, or at Easter time, the gospel is read 
from the book, but most generally it is the Gospel of St. 
John, so much venerated by the people in ancient times. 
The Mass formerly ended at the words " Go, the dismissal is 
at hand," but the people were in the habit of remaining longer 
in the church, and to encourage their devotion the priests 
used to read the Gospel of St. John, and from that it came to 
be a part of the Mass. Not that it is a part precisely, but 
that it is said at ne rly all the Masses. It begins thus: 

The beginning of the holy Gospel according to St. John. 

Glory be to thee, O Christ. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God! This Word was in the beginning with God. All 
things were made by Him, and without Him was made nothing that was 
made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men ; and the light 
shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. — There 
was a man sent from God whose name was John. 



] Meratum, t. L p. 243. 2 Alexander VU., Deculis. 3 Honorius, Gem. Anim. L 
C. 90. 4 Luke xxv. 50, 51. 



C 2U 



He came for a 'witr.T 
mi glit beliere ihrough h im . He 
testimony ©f the ligiiT Hz - 
man that cometh into this — : " : 

He -was in the "world, and 
knew Him doi, H<e : :—- m to His 
But as hill- • :^-.--^ ^-~ H: 
God: to those that believe n zL_, ■ 
of theile*, 
JM, <he«5 i 




taon 01 the ^ - : > 
as it were the glory & 

truth. 

Thanks he to God. 




THE PULPIT. MECHLIN CATHEDRA! 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

REASONS FOR FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 

YOU have been at a funeral, you have thought of the 
things you saw there, these rites and ceremonies, the 
ways of disposing of the dead ; and perhaps you have thought 
of your- own death, and of your own funeral, and you fear 
death, but rather fear that which can kill the soul. For there 
are three kinds of death: that which comes from nature, 
that which comes from sin, and that which comes from grace. 
In the first the body dies, in the second the soul dies, in the 
third the whole man dies. The first death separates the soul 
from the body, the second separates the soul from God, the 
third separates man from the things of this world. The first 
kind of death is of all men, the death of the body ; the sec- 
ond kind of death is of all sinners, the death of the soul by 
mortal sin ; the third kind of death is of all those called to the 
religious life, among the clergy of the monastery or the nuns 
of the convent. By the first death the body is buried in the 
earth, by the second the soul is buried in hell, by the third the 
person is buried in heaven. Of the first the Holy Ghost says : 
" death ! how bitter is the remembrance of thee." 1 Of the 
second the Royal Prophet says : " The death of the wicked is 
very evil." 2 Of the third Balaam says : " Let my soul die the 
death of the just." 3 " Such is death," says a holy man. 4 

We will speak of the first kind of death, of the separation 
of the soul from the body ; and let us pray that we may never 
die the death of the wicked, that our souls may be ever free 
from mortal sin, which is its death and separation from our 
Lord and our Creator God. 

How often have we seen these ceremonies, these sepulchral 
rites, and all these things which take place at the death of our 
friends, and how strongly they have impressed us when we 

1 Ecclesiast. xli. 1. - Psalm xxxiii. 22. s Num. xxxiii. 10. 

* Card. Hugon, Tractatus de Norte. 



246 ST. AUGUSTIXE ON FUNERALS. 

know them, for they teach us truths, the teachings of our re- 
ligion and the doctrine of our Church. For the Church is 
like a mother ; at our birth she takes us and washes us in the 
waters of baptism; during our life she watches over our ac- 
tions, never ceasing in her motherly care, while at our death 
she receives us again and leaves us not till the last rite at the 
grave is ended ; even then she leaves us not, for she holds the 
consecrate ground where our bodies lie waiting for the last 
judgment, and daily offers up the holy Sacrifice for the repose 
of our souls. Thus, from the bosom of our mothers, where we 
were entombed nine months, we are journeying on toward our 
tomb; our life then began in a tomb and will end in a tomb. 1 

But why all these rites and ceremonies around the coffin 
and the grave ? Let the words of St. Augustine tell the reason : 

"All this, that is, the preparing of the bodies, the kind of 
burying, the pomp of funerals, is rather a consolation for th3 
living than a help for the dead." 2 " The bodies of the dead 
must not be treated with disrespect or thrown away, especially 
those who have died in innocence and faith, because the Holy 
Spirit used these members like so many organs and vessels to 
do his work. If therefore our Father's ring or clothes, or things 
of that kind, are dear and cherished, according to our love for 
him, for the same reason these bodies are to be honored, for 
they are nearer and united to us more closely than the clothes 
we wear. For our bodies are not for an ornament or as an aid 
to us, but these bodies belong to the nature of man ; whence 
the funerals of the great and just men of old were considered 
as works of piety, and their burials celebrated ; while they 
lived they chose the place of their tomb; 3 they told their 
children how their bodies were to be carried ; 4 Tobias bury- 
ing the dead merited heaven according to the words of the 
Angel ; 5 while the Gospel tells us with what care and honor 
they placed in the tomb the body of our Lord. 6 Surely all 
this signifies not that there is any sense in the dead body, but 
that, by the providence of God, who is pleased by these works 
of mercy, these ceremonies tell of the faith in the resurrection 
from the dead." 7 "In the Books of the Maccabees s we read 
that sacrifice was offered for the dead, and if it is mentioned 

1 S. Gregory of Nazianzin Destich. - S. Augustine de Civit. Dei. L. ii., cxii. 

3 Gen. xlvii. 30. 4 Gen. 1. 2 and 24. 5 Tobias ii. 9 and xii. 12. 

6 Matt, xsvii. 59, GO. T S. Ausrustinc de Civit. Dei, Hi., cxiii. s II Mac . xii. 43. 



FUNERALS AMONG THE JEWS. 247 

in no other part; of the Old Testament, that is of little account 
to the Universal Church, whose authority regarding this cus- 
tom is so well known, for, among the prayers of the priest 
offered at the altar to the Lord God, there is given a place for 
the remembrance of the dead." 1 " If for any reason the bodies 
of the dead cannot be buried, supplications for their souls 
must not be omitted, which must be given for all those who 
have died in the Christian and Catholic community ; when 
they are not known, the Church prays for them in a general 
remembrance, so that if they have no parents, children or 
friends, their pious mother takes the place of all these." 2 

Such was the belief of the Christians of the Soman empire 
more than fourteen hundred years ago, in the days of St. Au- 
gustine. Such, he says, is the object and the reason of all 
these rites and ceremonies of the funerals in our churches : a 
consolation for the living, that by honoring the dead we may 
lessen the grief of the friends of the dead; that by honoring 
their remains we may show respect to our friends who have 
gone ; that by these funeral services we may awaken in the 
minds of those present the belief in the resurrection of the 
dead on the last day; that by these rites and ceremonies we 
may teach truth to the people by signs and figures ; and that 
we may place where it will be remembered the body of our 
friend, and that thus all may pray for the repose of that 
Christian soul. 

Like many of our rites, our funeral ceremonies come down 
to us from the customs of the Jews. Their only way of dis- 
posing of their dead was burial. That was like a holy duty 
imposed upon their children and their nearest kin, the latter 
coming sometimes from a great distance to give the last rites to 
the bodies of their departed relatives. Their dead were quickly 
buried after death. Such required the law of Moses, such re- 
quired the climate of that warm country. The body was car- 
ried on a bier, often carved and beautified with beautiful 
ornaments ; the head of the dead uncovered, the parents, rel- 
atives, friends and acquaintances following with a great crowd, 
singing hymns and lamentations of sorrow. 3 As to the He- 
brew way of preparing the dead before being laid in the tomb, 
the Bible gives but few hints. From what we can judge, the 

1 S. Ausnstine de Cnra Geretida Pro Mortuis, LI., n. iii. a Ibid., n. vi. 
s Diet. Eneyc. de la Theo. Cath. 



248 SIGNS, SYMBOLS, AND FIGUKES. 

eyes of the dead were first closed, then kissed ; 1 the body 
washed, then covered with a cloth ; 2 the members next rolled 
in bandages, 3 incense, myrrh and precious spices being put be- 
tween the folds ; 4 the remains of nobles, princes and of kings 
were covered with grand and gorgeous vestments ; 5 the bodies 
of Jacob and of Joseph were embalmed, 6 but the Jews seldom 
embalmed their dead, that being an Egyptian custom ; they 
did it only when in Egypt. When everything was ready, they 
buried their dead as soon as they could, but that did not be 
come customary till the law of Moses established those kinds 
of uncleanness coming from touching a dead body, death 
being to them a figure of sin that kills the soul ; nothing o' 
the kind having been known in the time of the Patriarchs. 7 

In the Catholic Church, the faithful, instructed for so many 
ages since its establishment by Christ, bury their dead with 
rites and ceremonies taken partly from the Jews and partly 
from the rules and customs of the Apostles, which, when 
fully carried out, tell by signs, and symbols, and figures, and 
rites, and ceremonies, the truths of our holy faith, and teach 
the people the grandeur of our souls and of our bodies ; of 
souls going back to Cod from whence they came, at the mo- 
ment of their creation ; of bodies going back to the earth 
from whence they came, to rest till the trump of the Arch- 
angel calls them to rise for judgment. That body dead, cold 
and prepared for the grave, tells us in frightful language of the 
cause of death — that sin of our first parents in the garden : 
that body without pulse or motion speaks to us and tells us of 
the awful state of the souls of those who are dead in mortal sin. 
They are dead, that is, the grace of God, which is the life of the 
soul, has left them; they are dead, that is, there is no pulse, 
no remorse, no sorrow for sin, no fear of God's judgments; 
their souls are dead like the corpses, without motion ; they 
have no love of God, no fear of his anger, no care for the fu- 
ture, no sorrow for the past ; thus thousands are dead, their 
souls are dead, waiting to be buried in hell : thus man's death 
the separation of his soul from his body, is a picture of th» 
death of the soul, its death by mortal sin. "When a Christian 
is sick, and there is danger of death, the priest is called, and 

1 Gen. li.; Tob xiv. 15. " Matt, xxvii. 59 : Mark xv. 46 : Luke xxiii. 53. 

B John xi. 44. * Jolm xii. 7 ; xix. 39. 5 Josephus Antiq. svii. SO ; Bel. Jud., i. 33, 9. 
6 Gen. 1. 2, 25. 7 Gen. sxii. 2 et seq. 




WESTMINSTER; ABBEY. 



THE CHRISTIAN BURIAL. 249 

comes to prepare the soul for its journey beyond the tomb. 
And it is sweet to visit the sick, to comfort them in their 
afflictions, to soothe their pain and wipe the fever from their 
burning brow ; to sit by the bedside of the dying and talk of 
that land beyond the grave, of the mansions of bliss where our 
Lord and Savior has gone before, to prepare for us a place of 
happiness in his kingdom. What sweetness then to visit the 
bedside of the dying, but of all others to minister to the soul, 
to wipe away its sins by the sacrament of penance, to nourish 
it with the Holy Viaticum, the body of our Lord, that the 
Christian soul may be nourished at his last hour by him who 
knows what it is to die, for he passed that way himself. Then 
to heal the wounds of sin by " the last putting on of oil," and 
open up the treasury of the church by filling that soul with 
the graces drawn from the infinite merits of our Savior's pas- 
sion. And when the time of agony comes on, when the livid 
lips grow still more pale, when the eyes are glassy and the fea- 
tures relax, and the face tells of the time of dissolution, to 
see the friends and relatives kneeling round the bed and pray- 
ing for the happy departure of that Christian soul, sending up 
those prayers to God and to the throne of the Crucified, who 
will say that the Christian religion is not grand and glorious 
even in death, and that the belief in the communion of saints 
is sweet and finds its echo in the sympathies of the human 
heart ; that our friends, although dead, still are only gone be- 
fore, and either in purgatory, in heaven or on earth, we form 
one church, the Bride of the Lamb, the Spouse of Jesus 
Christ? 

We are not allowed to bury the body soon after death : 
"No body must be buried, especially if the death be sudden, 
till after a certain lapse of time, so that there will be no doubt 
of the certainty of death." * That law of the church thus 
broke up the old Jewish custom of hurrying the body to the 
grave directly after death, and thus prevented the danger of 
burying any one while alive, as would otherwise happen. The 
body being decently laid out according to their condition of 
life ; a clergyman in his clerical robes, of a violet color, 2 to 
signify penance ; a lay-person in the secular dress, a lady in 
her habit, or, like the Jews, a bride in her bridal robes, that 

1 Rituale Romanum de Exequiis. 3 Ibid. 



250 LIGHTS AEOTOD THE COFFIN. 

the dignity of the persons may appear at their death. The 
custom of placing lighted candles around the body comes 
down to us from the most ancient times; some say it comes 
from the times of the Catacombs, when the tombs of the mar- 
tyrs were lighted up ; some say it is a sign of the light of faith 
once burning in the soul of the deceased ; but whatever its 
origin, we know " that these rites and ceremonies, coming 
down to us from the most remote antiquity and from the or- 
dinances of the Popes, the Holy Mother the Catholic Church 
uses them as mysteries of faith, as signs of Christian piety, 
and as salutary aids for the faithful dead." 1 Thus the 
Church speaks of prayers for the dead and of helping the de- 
parted by our prayers. Every one knows the belief of the 
Church, and how she teaches that those who die with little 
sins, or who have not satisfied for mortal sins forgiven, will 
have to pass through purgatory ; for purgatory signifies to 
purge or to purify, for there the souls of those who die friends 
of God are purged and pnrified from the remains of sins and 
from their little faults. That there is " a purgatory, and that 
the souls of those kept there are helped by the prayers of the 
faithful, and most especially by the acceptable sacrifices of the 
altar," 2 has been defined; for, "If these . . . die in the 
charity of God, before they have satisfied with worthy fruits of 
penance for their actions and omissions, after death their souls 
are purified by the pains of purgatory, they are aided by the 
suffrages of the faithful, namely, by the sacrifice of the Mass 
and the works of piety, which according to the customs of the 
church are given." 3 We are giving you, reader, the doctrine 
as it comes to us from the most remote ages, so that you may 
be able to judge for yourself of the reason and of the truth of 
the rites and the ceremonies of the Church ; we are telling you 
of that truth so soothing and so much agreeing with our ideas 
of God, of his goodness in saving us, and of his holiness in 
allowing us to be purged from our imperfections before enter- 
ing heaven, that even the Oxford writers say : "That taken 
in the mere letter, there is little in it against which we shall 
be able to sustain formal objections. Purgatory is not spoken 
of as a place of pain ; it need only mean a place of purgation. 
. . . Furthermore, that the prayers of the living benefit the 

1 Rituale Romaunm cle Exequiis. " Council of Trent, Ses. Ultima. 

9 Council of Florence for the Union of the Greeks. 



I 

OLD DOCTRINES. 251 

dead in Christ is, to say the least, not inconsistent, as Usher 
shows us, with the primitive belief." x 

That custom of praying for the dead comes down from the 
most remote times, from the followers of the Apostles, and 
they learned it from the Lord and the Jewish law. We read 
that many of Judas' soldiers having been slain in battle, when 
they came to take their bodies away, they found " under the 
coats of the slain some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, 
which the law forbiddeth to theTJews . . . and so betaking 
themselves to prayer, they besought him that the sin which 
had been committed might be forgotten . . . And making a 
gathering he (Judas) sent twelve thousand drachms of silver 
to Jerusalem, for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the 
dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrec- 
tion ... it is therefore a holy and a wholesome thought to 
pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." 2 

That custom and belief, so clear in the book of the Ma- 
chabees, is seen in all their rituals and the books relating to 
their funerals and the burials of their dead, and it was not 
condemned by Christ or his followers, 3 for our Lord says : 
" He that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be 
forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come." 4 
From these words, it appears that some sins are forgiven in 
this world and some in the world to come. St. Paul speaking 
to the Corinthians says: " Every man's work shall be mani- 
fest : for the day of the Lord shall declare it because it shall be 
revealed in lire : and fire shall try every man's work of what 
sort it is . . . If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss: 
but he himself shall be saved so as by fire." 5 By these words 
we see that the Apostle teaches that some will be saved " so 
as by fire," that is, when their sins are washed away by the 
fires of purgatory. Again, St. Peter says, that Christ "en- 
livened in the spirit in which coming he preached to those 
spirits that were in prison," 6 that is, after his death he "de- 
scended into hell," the place of the repose of the Patriarchs 
and Prophets of the Old Testament, who were waiting for his 
coming, and who were in Abraham's bosom, where they had 
been purged and purified from their little sins. 

1 Oxford Tracts, 79, § 1, p. 5, v. ix. 2 n Machabees xii. 40 to 46. 

3 Kenreck Theo. Dog. De Purgatorio. * Matt. xii. 32. 

5 I Cor. iii. 13, 14, 15. e I Peter iii. 13. 19. 



252 THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH. 

A great writer says : " For not of some truth was it said 
it would not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the 
world to come, unless some which not in this but in the future 
world would be forgiven." i 

Another : " We must believe that there are little sins washed 
out by the fire of purgatory, for truth hath said, 'he that 
shall speak against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven 
him, neither in this world nor in the world to come/" 2 

Again, " We make offerings for the dead on their anniver- 
sary;" 3 and of the duties of a widow towards the soul of 
her dead husband; "Sightly she prays for his soul, that it 
may obtain a refuge, the first day of the resurrection a con- 
sort, and the anniversary of his sleep she offered gifts." 4 

" The bishops, our interceders, religiously considering and 
well providing, exhorted lest a brother should die without 
having a sacrifice offered for his sleep." 5 

"Then we pray for the dead fathers and bishops and for all 
who lived among us, especially believing they are helped by 
prayer, but especially by the tremendous sacrifice of the altar." 6 

" These souls are purged either in this life by prayer and 
the study of wisdom, or after death in the furnace of purify- 
ing fire, before they can come into everlasting happiness." 7 

An ancient writer speaking of the rites and ceremonies of 
the funeral of Constantine the Emperor says: "For an in- 
numerable people, uniting with the priests in sighs and tears, 
offered prayers to God for the soul of the Emperor, fulfilling 
a most grateful duty to the pious prince." 8 

"Besides these, prayers offered for the dead are useful for 
them even if they do not wipe out all their sins." 9 

"Ifa sinner dies it is right to rejoice that his sins are wiped 
out, and as much as we can he is aided, not by tears, but by 
prayers and supplications and works of charitv and sacri- 
fices." 10 

"It is necessary that all pass through fire ... of this pas- 
sage ' through fire' we must not doubt because it is Paradise, 
it is not separation from Christ. Even that Peter who re- 
ceived the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and who walked 

1 S. Augustine De Civit. Dei cxxix. a S. Gregory LIT. Dialog, cxxix. 

3 Turtullian L De Corona Mil. c iii. * TurrillianLib. De Moribsam. 

s S. Cyprian Ep. lxxi. ad cler. et Plebens. 6 S. Cyril of Jerusalem Cat. Myst. V. 

7 S. Greg. Nan. Oratio de Mortui*. s Eusebius L. iv. de Vita Constantitii. e. lxxi. 

8 Epiphanus Haer lxxv. quae. est. Aerian. 10 S. Chryst. Horn. xli. In Epist. Cor. 



IN OLDEN TIMES. 253 

upon the waters and said : ' We have passed through fire and 
water, thou hast led us into refuge/ that Peter said 'thou 
hast tried us with fire as silver is tried.' " 1 

" Husbands scatter violets, roses and purple flowers on the 
tombs of their dead brides. In these colors and perfumes 
their resting ashes sleep, knowing that as water quenches fire 
thus these works of charity wipe out sin." 2 

" Prayers for the dead must not be forgotten, they must be 
offered for all the dead of the Christian and Catholic society ; 
even when their names are not known the Church prays for 
them by a general remembrance." 3 

" We believe it comes from the Apostles that sacrifice is 
offered for the dead, or that prayer is said for them. Thus 
the Catholic Church teaches everywhere." 4 

Thus going back to Apostolic times, the writings of the 
fathers are filled with prayers, passage tracts and exhorta- 
tions, giving the teaching of the Church in these olden times, 
telling that we have not changed since the times when the 
great saints of God lived and wrote, when they gathered up 
the traditions of the Apostles, when the bishops of the 
early ages gathered in the cities, now in ruins on the northern 
shores of Africa, and directed "that the sacrament of the 
altar must be celebrated only by men fasting, except the anni- 
versary of the supper of the Lord ; but if any remembrance is 
made of those who died, whether bishops, clergy or any others, 
it is done by prayer alone." 5 Again in the same place: 
" Penitents who carefully fulfill the laws of penance, if they 
die on a journey, or are lost at sea, their remembrance is made 
in prayers and sacrifice." 6 

Thus the ancient fathers and writers of the Church, the 
councils of her clergy held in past ages, the old book of 
Liturgies of theology, the Missals used on the altar, all mon- 
uments of olden times, tell us of the services of the Church 
being in these days the same as at the present time, telling us 
of the prayers for the dead, of the belief in purgatory, of 
Masses for the departed and how they are relieved from their 
pains and suffering by the works of the living. 

The sufferings of purgatory are of two kinds — the pain of 

1 S. Ambrose in Psalm cxviii. Serm. xx. 1. 2 S. Jerome Ep. xxvi. ad Pammaclriurn. 
3 S, Augustine 1. de Cura pro Mortuis cix. * S. Isidore Hispalensis de Officiis Ecc 1. cx\ iii. 
5 III Council of Carthage, Canon xxix. ° IV Council of Carthage, lxxix. 



254 THE PAINS OF PUKGATOKY. 

being away from God, and the pain of the senses. 1 For G-od 
they were made, and to enjoy his presence they were created, 
and they long for him with all their strength, for they are in 
the last term of their being ; and by nature being made for 
God's presence^ that longing coming from their very nature, 
pierces to the very depths of their souls. It is not so with us 
now in this world, for we are not in the last term of our being, 
we are in the state natural to us while in this life ; but at the 
moment of our death, there arises in our souls a longing, an 
irresistible desire to be with God and see him face to face, 
and that is the suffering of being away from God. 

The pain of the senses has not been defined by the Church, 
but all the Latin fathers say that it is a fire created by God 
to punish and purge these souls, while some say it is the same 
as the fire of hell. The pain of being away from God and 
the pain of the senses are greater than any of the sufferings 
of this life, 2 but the smallest pain of purgatory is not greater 
than the most severe suffering of this life. It is certain that 
purgatory is not as frightful as hell, although it is generally 
believed that the same fire is in it as in hell, they being 
soothed by the friendship of God and the thought of once 
going to heaven. The length of their suffering is not known ; 
one father prays for his mother thirty years after her death, 3 
and she was a saint, 4 and he asks every one who reads his 
book to pray for her. After the last judgment there will be 
no purgatory, only heaven, hell ; these will be the places of the 
souls of men. The good living at the end of the world will 
be purified with the fire which will bum on the last day. 
The souls of the dead cannot come back and appear to us in 
their bodies, either to instruct us or to ask our help ; 5 but we 
must be careful not to believe the stories we hear, for the dead 
come back but very rarely. 

We are not writing on purgatory, but we will ask the 
reader, If a child lives till the age of twelve and never does 
any thing wrong, and then steals ten cents and immediately 
dies, where will that soul go ; not to hell, for it would be cruel 
for God to punish it forever for such a sin ; not to heaven, for 
nothing defiled can enter there ; where will it go but to a 

1 S. Thomas. 2 S. Thoma«. S. Bonaventura, Bellarmini, etc. 

3 S. Augustine's Confessions, LIX. c. 13. * S. Monica. 

5 S. Thomas Suppl. q. hrix. a. Hi. ; Valentia T. iv. desp. xi. q. 1. p. 11. 



FUNERAL KITES. 255 

place of purgation, where after a time it will be purged and 
enter heaven. Such has been always the belief of the Chris- 
tians, and that doctrine is impressed on our rites and cere- 
monies of funeral obsequies, that we may be reminded of 
death, that these may teach us truth by every sign, symbol 
and ceremony held over the departed. 

When the time comes the body is carried with honor and 
respect to the church, where Mass should be said for the re- 
pose of the soul. Such is the law of the Church. " Let that 
custom of the highest antiquity be continued ; as often as pos- 
sible let Mass be said, the body being present, before the 
corpse is consigned to the earth." J The habit, then, of burying 
in the afternoon should be condemned in the severest terms, 
except in great difficulties people cannot excuse themselves 
from sin, who, against the law of the Church, bury their 
dead without a Mass. 2 

In Catholic countries the body is carried to the church with 
great pomp and ceremony. At the sound of the bell the 
clergy gather at the church, and with the parish priest, in black 
stole or cope, led by the processional cross, they all go to the 
house of the dead. The procession being formed of sodalities, 
confraternities and brotherhoods, the clergy, regular and 
secular, all go in procession from the house of the dead to 
the church, singing hymns and psalms, and carrying lighted 
candles in their hands. Before leaving the house the pastor 
sprinkles the coffin with holy water, singing : 

If thou wilt mark iniquities, Lord, Lord who shall stand it ? 3 
Out of the depths have I cried to thee, Lord, etc. 4 



At the end, 



Everlasting rest give them, Lord, 
And let perpetual light shine upon them. 



The pastor having intoned the verse, 

And the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice, 5 

the clergy sing psalms taken from the Office of the Dead, 
those having a character of sorrow and repentance, till they 
arrive at the church. . Having arrived at the door, the pastor 

1 Hit. Rom. De Exequiis. 2 Idem. s Psalm cxxix. 3. 

4 Ibid. 1. 5 Ibid. L. 10. 



256 MEAXIXG 01 LIGHTS. 

repeats The above verse, while the clergy or the choir sings 
the following : 

Come all ye saints of (rod. make haste re Angels of the Lord, to re- 
_r. r his soul and to offer it before the sight of the Mas! High. Let 
Christ who calls thee take thee., and let the Ang ils e v " : thee tc Abra- 
ham's bosom. To receive his soul and to offer it in tfa b eight : : t fa - \ 1 a : 

High. Everlasting rest give him, Lord, and let perpetual light shine 
about them. To offer it before the sight of the Meet High. 

All the ceremonies and prayers are carried out and said as 
though the sonl was but just leaving the body, because they 
cannot be carried out in the one instant of death. 

The coffin is then carried in t : ~: i They must 

be always laymen, at the death >f a layman, and no clergy- 
man is allowed to act as pallbearer for a lay person, as it would 
be below his dignity. 1 The coffin having been carried in is 
placed before the altar, the fee: a the altar if a lay per- 

son, the head to the altar if a priest. 2 because during the 
offices of the Church the people lot ke ] toward the altar, while 
the dergyman looked toward the people and taught them; 
thus in death iheii bodies are] J in life. 

The corpse is then surrounded with lighted candles : for as 
light signifies truth, they tell us of the uprightness of his life, 
and that as a 20od Christian the deceased lived according to 
i th - : ndles tell us of the light of faith burning 
in the soul of the d i : sase 1 during his life, 8 light illumi- 

rld aronii ad lets us see sarronnding ob- 

jects, thus the light of faith lights up the soul and lets nc 
the truths : G id re real 1 1 to "man : and to tell of that light 
of faith in the soul of the dead, we place around the coffin of 
the dead the lighted candles. Every Christian's life should 
belike to that of Christ, and his funeral like onr Savior's; 
and when the Lord's be ly was laid in the tomb, when the 
holy women came anoint it on the day of the resurrect] 
they saw that where the body was laid was surrounded with 
light : thus the corpse of the "Christian should be surrounded 
with light, and for that reason we place the candles around 
the coffin to resemble the burial of Christ. 

The coffin having been placed before the altar, the singei s 
begin : 

Bit Ban. De Esequiis. ' Ibid. 



THE OFFICE FOR THE DEAD. 257 

Come, let us adore the King, 
By whom all things live. 

Psalm xciv. 

Come, let us praise the Lord with joy, etc. 

Zachary's Canticle. 

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, etc. 1 

Then these words of our Lord : 

I am the resurrection and the,life ; he that believeth in me although 
he be dead shall live, and every one that believeth in me shall not die 
forever. 2 

The Lord's Prayer. 

Our Father, etc. 3 

And lead us not into temptatiou. 

But deliver us from all evil. 

From the gate of the lower hell, 4 

O Lord, deliver his soul. 

May they rest in peace. Amen. 

Hear, Lord, my prayer, 5 
And let my cry come to thee. s 
The Lord be with you, 7 
And with thy spirit. 8 

Let us pray. 
Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant from every 
bond of wickedness, that, rising in the glory of resurrection, he may 
rejoice among thy Saints and Elect. Through Christ our Lord. Amen, 

The clergy now begin that part of the Divine Office called 
Lauds, that is, the Morning Song of Praise. In this country, 
because we would often be disturbed in the streets, because we 
have not enough of the clergy in each parish, and because we 
are often pressed for time, many difficulties standing in the 
way, we cannot carry out all these ceremonies. The custom 
is generally to meet the corpse at the door of the church, and 
to go in procession up to the altar singing Psalm cxxix., " Out 
of the depths I have cried/' etc.; then begin Mass as soon as 
the body^ is placed before the altar. When a priest is dead, 
there being a large number of clergymen present, these cere- 
monies are carried out, and the rites are very impressive. The 
body of the dead is clothed in vestments, as a sign of his high 

1 Luke i. 68 to 80. 2 John xi. 25, 26. 3 Math. vi. 9 to 14. * Psalm lxxxv. 13. 
5 Psalm cl. 2. c Ibid. 7 Euth ii. 4. 8 II Tim. iv. 22. 



258 THE COEFIX BEFORE THE ALTAE. 

office while living; beholds a chalice and paten in his hands, 
as a sign of his priesthood ; the vestments are violet, for that 
is a symbol of penance, signifying that he died doing penance 
for his sins ; his head is turned toward the altar, so that if he 
rose he would address the people as he did during his life ; 
and now, though dead, he speaks to them in his coffin by his 
example, telling them that, though a priest is high in dignity 
or station, like all men he must die. You will notice that 
everything is in black, the candles, the altar, the vestments, 
the * coverings ; everywhere the church appears in black. 
When people die their friends are clothed in black ; it is the 
color of mourning, the color of death ; thus the church in 
mourning for one of her children clothes her priests and min- 
isters in black at the death of one of her members. But near 
the tabernacle there is no black, but white, for our Lord rose 
to die no more, and as a sign of his immortality, no black is 
allowed near him in the tabernacle. 

As soon as the Office for the Dead is ended, the Mass begins. 
Coming to the altar, the celebrant begins the 

IxTRorr. 

Everlasting rest give them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine 
upon them. '' A hymn, God, becometh thee in Sion, and a vow shall 
be paid to thee in Jerusalem. hear ray prayer : all flesh shall come to 
thee." ' Everlasting rest, etc. 

The Prayer. 

O God, to whom belongs to have mercy always and to forgive : we 
humbly pray thee for the soul of thy servant (name), whom to-day thou 
hast commanded to leave this world" ; that thou mayest not deliver him 
into the hands of the enemy, nor forget him in the end, but that thou 
wouldst direct his soul to be received by the holy Angels, and led to his 
home in Paradise ; that because he hoped and believed in thee, he may 
not suffer the pains of hell, but possess everlasting joys. Through Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

The Epistle. 

Reading of the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the 
Thessalonians. 

Brethren, we will not have you ignorant concerning them that sleep, 
that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. For if we 
believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them who have slept 
through Jesus, will God bring with him. For this we say unto you in 

1 Psalm lxiv. 23. 



THE GREATEST PIECE OF POETRY. 259 

the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the com- 
ing of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept, for the Lord 
himself shall come down from heaven with commandment, and with the 
voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God: then we, who are 
alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds, 
to meet Christ in the air, and so we shall be always with the Lord. 
Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. 1 

The Gradual. 

Everlasting rest give them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine 
upon them. "The just shall be in everlasting remembrance : he shall 
not fear the evil hearing." i 

The Tract. 

Absolve, Lord, the souls of all the faithful dead from every bond of 
wickedness. And they, being aided by thy grace, may shun the judg- 
ment of vengeance, and rejoice in the happiness of everlasting light. 

The "Dies Lele." 

The celebrant then reads the " Dies Irae," the most cele- 
brated piece of poetry ever composed. It cannot be translated 
into any language with all its grandeur and sublimity, for 
poetry always loses in a translation ; it must be read in the 
original Latin to be fully appreciated, but the author has tried 
to translate it so as to give its grandeur and pathos in English. 

The author of the " Dies Irae " is not known ; some say it 
was composed by Latino Orsini, some by Gregory the Great, 
others by St. Bernard, others by Father Humbert, General of 
the Dominicans, or by Augustine de Diella ; but it is more 
probable that it was written by a saint long before the times 
of these men, by one so filled with heavenly perfection that he 
did not seek popularity or fame hy sending his name down to 
posterity, as the author of the finest piece of poetry ever com- 
posed by man. 

Schaff says : " This marvellous hymn is the acknowledged 
masterpiece of Latin poetry, and the most sublime of all un- 
inspired hymns. The secret of its irresistible power lies in 
the awful grandeur of the theme, the intense earnestness and 
pathos of the poet, the simple majesty and solemn muse of its 
language, the stately metre, the triple rhyme, and the vocal 
assonances, chosen in striking adaptation, all combining to 
produce an overwhelming effect, as if we heard the final crash 

1 These, iv. a Psalm cxi. 7. 



2G) THE '-DIES IR^." 

of the universe, the commotion of the open graves, the trum- 
pet of the Archangel summoning the quick and the dead, and 
saw the ' King of tremendous majesty ' seated on his throne 
of justice and mercy, ready to dispense everlasting life or 
everlasting woe.'' 

THE "DIES IRM." 

The day of wrath, that awful day, 
To dust this world will pass away : 
As David and the Sibyl say. 

What horrors then will be, and fear, 
When all will see their Judge appear, 
The awful trial drawing near. 

The Angel's trump will send the sound 
Amid the dead and graves around, 
Before his throne will all confound. . 

Death and nature will stupefy, 
As from the grave to life they fly, 
To judgment called 'mid tear and sigh. 

Before him they will place the book. 
Where all is down ; he gives one look 
To judge mankind, each place, each nook. 

When that great Judge shall take his place, 
And men are brought before his face, 
He'll pass nothing, he'll try each case. 

What then will I a sinner say ? 
What patron will I ask to pray? 
The just are scarcely saved that day 

King of tremendous majesty, 
Who is saved by grace must be, 
Save me thou, 6 font of piety. 

Remember Jesus as thou say, 
I am the causes of thy way, 
Let me not perish on that day. 

Saeking me, thou sat by the road, 
By the cross redeemed me of old, 
Will that be lost, such labor untold ? 

Tlnu just Judge of men, thou hath 
Promised forgiveness as thou saith, 
B3fore that tim?, that day of wrath. 



TIIE GOSPEL. 261 

I groan in spirit for my sin : 

My face will blush when I begin 
To think of guilt ; O save me then. 

Mary went from thee forgiven, 
To the thief was opened heaven, 
Hope to me also thou hast given. 

Unworthy prayers that day of ire 
I'll offer thee, almighty Sire, 
Punish me not in everlasting fire. 

Among the sheep give me a place, 
From the goats before thy face, 
Take me when thou try my case. 

To hell forever are doomed the cursed, 
To burn forever, a fate the worst ; 
Call me to thee among the first. 

Inclined I pray ; I look around ; 
My heart is humbled to the ground, 
My sentence passed, I hear the sound. 

That day of tears, that day of dread, 
When from the dust shall rise the dead 
To hear their judgment ever sad. 

To thee we'll offer our behest, 
To thee, our Jesus ever blessed ; 
Grant them everlasting rest. 

The celebrant then passes from the epistle to the middle of 
the altar, and bowing down recites the prayer said before the 
Gospel, leaving out the last part. He then reads the Gospel 
in the usual manner. 

The Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John. 

At that time Martha said to Jesus : Lord, if thou hadst been here, my 
brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt 
ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith to her : Thy brother shall 
rise again. Martha saith to him : I know that he shall rise again in the 
resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her : I am the resurrection 
and the life : he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live, 
and every one that liveth and believeth in me shall not die forever. Be- 
lievest thou this ? She saith to him : Yea, Lord, I have believed that 
thou art CHRIST, the Son of the living God, who art come into this 
world. 1 



John xi. 



202 THE DEAD MASS. 

The Gospel is ended with the usual response. The cele- 
brant then says, 

" The Lord be with you," the 
" Let us pray." 
and turning to the altar, says the 

Offertory. 

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful 
dead from the pains of hell and from the deep lake ; deliver them from 
the mouth of the lion, let not hades swallow them up, but tell St. Mi- 
chael to lead them into holy light : which thou promised to Abraham and 
to his seed. Hosts and prayers we offer thee, Lord ; wilt thou receive 
them for those souls whose memory we celebrate to-day : make them 
pass, O Lord, from death into life, which thou promised to Abraham and 
to his seed. 

The Secret. 

Forgive, we beseech thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant (name) for 
whom we immolate this host of praise to thee, humbly beseeching thy 
majesty, that by the services of this pious offering, he may be worthy 
to come into everlasting rest. Through Christ, etc. 

The Commuxiox. 

Let everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with thy saints in 
eternity, because thou art pious. Eternal rest give them, Lord, and 
let everlasting light shine upon them with thy saints in eternity, be- 
cause thou art pious. 

The Last Prayer. 

Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that the soul of thy servant 
(name) which to-day passed from this earth, may be purged by these 
sacrifices, and delivered from sin ; may it gain equally forgiveness and 
everlasting rest. Through Christ our Lord, etc. 

The celebrant makes the sign of the cross over the book, 
beginning the Introit for the prayer for the dead. 

The Mass is the same as usual, except the parts given 
above and the Preface. The celebrant does not say the 
Psalm, " Judge me, Lord," etc., as it is for the repose of the 
soul of the dead, and not for the living, many of the cere- 
monies being omitted, as it is a time of sorrow for the dead ; 
thus the subdeacon does not receive the celebrant's blessing 
after the Epistle, nor does he bold the paten before his eye-, 
but it is hidden under the corporal on the altar ; the deacon 
says but a part of the prayer before the Gospel : the celebrant 



AROUND THE COFFIN". 263 

does not bless the water before it is put in the chalice, because 
the Mass is for the dead and not to signify the union of the 
living with Christ. 

Mass having been finished, the subdeacon takes the cross, 
having an acolite on each side of him holding a lighted can- 
dle ; he stands at the head of the coffin, to signify that Christ 
is the head of the living and of the dead ; that as he was the 
head and leader in life, now he is the same in death; the 
lights on each side tell of the science and knowledge of all 
things coming from Christ and enlightening all men, both 
living and dead. The clergy then range themselves around 
the coffin, while the celebrant comes clothed in his priestly 
garments to tell of his sacerdotal power and virtues; the black 
teaches that he is dead to the world ; the white alb that he 
is clothed with innocence ; the girdle that his loins are bound 
up and that he is not married ; the stole tells of his authority, 
and over all the black cope such as they wore in the times of 
the Roman Empire. Clothed thus he comes and reads the 
following, the clergy answering: 

Enter not into judgment with thy servant, Lord, for no one will 
be justified before thee, unless from thee forgiveness of all his sins be 
given him. Therefore, we pray that thy judicial sentence may not crush 
him, whom the prayer of Christians commends ; but thy grace help- 
ing, he may be worthy to escape the judgments of thy vengeance, who, 
while he lived, was marked with the sign of the Holy Trinity : who liveth 
and reigneth forever and ever. Amen. 

Then they sing the following : 

Deliver me, Lord, from everlasting death, on that tremendous 
day, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved, when thou shalt 
come to judge the world by fire. It makes me tremble, and I fear, while 
the trial is preparing, and the coming wrath, when thou shalt come to 
judge the world by fire. That day of wrath, of calamity, and of misery, 
that great and woful bitter day, when thou shalt come to judge the 
world by fire. Everlasting rest give them, Lord, and let perpetual 
light shine upon them. Deliver me, O Lord, from everlasting death, on 
that tremendous day, when the heavens and the earth shall be moved, 
when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire. 

While this grand and magnificent piece is being sung, the 
celebrant and ministers stand before the altar facing the peo- 
ple before the coffin. At the end the celebrant sings : 



264 SPEIXKLIXG AMD LSCKSSKSG. 

Lord, have inercy on us. 1 
Ciirist, have mercy on as, 
Lord, have niercy on ns. 
Oar Father, e: : 

^Vhen the celebrant says "Lord, have mercy on us." the 
choir replies "Christ, have mercy on ns.'" 

While the prayer u Our Father" is being said in silence, the 
celebrant, aided by the deacon, goes around the coffin, sprink- 
ling it three times with holy water on each side., teaching by 
that, that the dead was washed three times by the waters :: 
baptism, telling that he was washed at baptism in the name 
of the tl_: Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, 

and Holy Ghost. Passing before* the image of the crucifix 
they make a bow to honor Jesus in his image on the cross 
before him all creatures must bow: passing before the altar 
they make a genuflection to adore Christ there present. Then 
taking the burning incense, he incenses the dead three times 
on either side. That incense signifies prayer, as the Psalmist 
gays: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight." 
Incense signifies prayer, as S. John saw the Son of God stand- 
ing before the throne of God, as man's mediator, •■ and there 
was given him much incense that he should offer the prayers 
of all the saints upon the golden altar which i i the 

throne of God." That incensing, then, tells us in symbolic- 
language of the prayers of the people like clouds of incense, 
.: smelling and fragrant, ascending up before the thi 
-:d. Incense is given only to God, .. tc something re- 
lating to him: thus we incense the dead body, for it once con- 
tained the Body of Christ who sat as a king enthroned in that 
heart now cold, when he received Communion. 

The celebrant and all having ended the Lord's Prayer, the 
celebrant continues : 

And lead as not into temptation, 
But deliver as from evil. 
From the gate of lower hell, 5 
O Lord, deliver bis souL 
Hear, Lord, my prayer. 
And let my cry : me : :bee. 
The Lord be with yon, 
And with thy spirit. 

E e dm czxii. 3, and Isaias sxxiiL 2. - P^alm. 



AT THE GEAVE. 265 

Let us pray. 
O God, to whom belongs always to have mercy and to save : we hum- 
bly pray for the soul of thy servant (name), whom to-day thou hast com- 
manded to leave this world, that thou may not deliver him into the 
hands of the enemy, nor forget it in the end, but that thou wouldst direct 
it to be received by the holy Angels, and led to his home in Paradise, 
that because he hoped and believed in thee, he may not suffer the pains 
of hell, but possess everlasting joys. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

If it be for the funeral of a priest, the prayer is "for the 
soul of the Priest thy servant/' etc., his first name being given 
in the Latin. She is used for a woman. 

The services having been finished, the corpse is carried to 
the grave in a procession, the clergy singing : 

May the Angels guide thee into Paradise ; may the martyrs receive 
thee on thy journey, and lead thee into the holy city Jerusalem. May 
the choir of Angels take thee, and with Lazarus, once poor, may you 
have everlasting rest. 

When they arrive at the grave or tomb, if it has not been 
blessed the celebrant blesses it, saying : 

Let us pray. 

Lord, by whose mercy the souls of the dead are at rest, wilt thou 
deign to bless this tomb, appoint thy holy Angel to be its guardian : that 
those whose bodies may be buried here, their souls may be absolved from 
every bond of wickedness, that always in thee and with thy saints, they 
may rejoice without end. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The celebrant then sprinkles the coffin and the grave or 
tomb with holy water. When all is ended, they kneel down 
and say a few prayers for the soul of the departed, when they 
return to their homes. 

You will see how careful we are with the dead, and how we 
guard their remains, and how every funeral is filled with re- 
ligion. In our cemeteries and graveyards alone you will see the 
cross, the sign of salvation. The cemeteries and burial places 
of all other religions are like those of the Pagans — no cross, no 
sign of salvation mark the resting place of their dead; their 
monuments and tombstones are to-day like those on the banks 
of the Mle, along the roads leading out of Eome, around the 
site of ancient Athens, in the desert of Arabia, monuments of 
human folly and pride, while the Church alone surrounds her 
funeral rites with signs, and figures, and symbols, teaching 



266 TOMES IX rHE.CHUKCH. 

truth to her people, and guards as most sacred the remains 
of her dead. 

In the great cathedrals of Europe are the tomb? of the 
clergy, the heroes, and the rulers of the past ; x the churches and 
the noblest and most venerable ecclesiastical buildings become 
the burying place of the great and the good of our faith. 
Thus St. Peter's at Eome is the tomb of the Apostles; in the 
Pantheon repose the bones of royalty ; the Quirinal is the last 
resting place of the Kings of Spain; Westminster Abbey is 
the cemetery for the great and honored dead of the English 
nation; under Notre Dame in Montreal are laid the bodies of 
the priests; the new Cathedral of Xew York has the vaults 
for the coffins of the Archbishops and Cardinals : such has 
been the custom from the beginning, to lay in peace the mor- 
tal remains of her children in the church they loved so well, 
to place near the altar the bodies of the clergy, that the body 
blessed with the laying on of hands might sleep the sleerj of 
peace in holy places consecrated to the Lord. 

Most generally the home of the dead is outside the church, 
then it is called a cemetery 2 from an old word signifying a sweet 
station, for those who die in peace with G-od go to a sweet 
station on their way to the last judgment : it is called a cem- 
etery again from the ancient Greek word meaning a sleeping 
ch amber, for there the dead sleep the sleep of death till called 
to rise at the last judgment, at the coming of the Son of God. 

The thing wherein is placed the body is called a coffin, from 
the French word meaning a box, for it is made like a box : 
the place where the coffin is put is called a grave, froin the 
old Saxon word meaning a hole dug in the ground: it is 
called a sepulchre from the Latin, signifying without pulse, 
for the body is lifeless and pulseless ; it is called a mausoleum 
from a rich and powerful Eoman. whose wife Artemisia built 
for him a magnificent sepulchre ; it is called a tomb, that is. in 
Latin, a mound of earth, because in olden times they raised 
great mounds of earth over the graves of the dead ; 3 it is 
called a monument from the Latin, that is, something which 
admonishes men of death : 4 it is called a pyramid in Egypt. 
that is, of fire, for thev burned the bodies of their dead and 



1 Petit Rational par Pcrin. p. 7. : Petit Rational par Perin. p. 0. 3 Virgil's Eneid. 
4 S. Augustine De Cura Gtrar.ch. pro Mortui:-, p. 20. Moriuis LI. vi. 



NO SINNER. 267 

gathering their ashes placed them in stone coffins ; it is 
called a sarcophagus from the Greek, meaning to eat flesh, for 
there in those graves the flesh is eaten by the rottenness and 
corruption of the grave; it is called a grave-stone, for the 
name and the date of their death are gravened on the stone. 
Such are some of the meanings of the places and the things 
relating to the last resting places of the dead, the things in 
the graveyard and the cemetery. 

If we look for the origin of the cemetery, we must go back 
to the origin of the Jewish race, to Abraham who bought the 
double cave ; * there his bones were laid ; 2 there was buried 
Sarah ; there slept the bones of Isaac, of Jacob, 3 of Adam, 
and of Eve. It was a double cave, for there were buried the 
two members of the human race, the two sexes, as St. Jerome 
says : there were buried the Patriarchs with their wives. 

But all should not be buried indifferently in the church, 
nor should all be interred in consecrated ground. Lucifer was 
driven out of heaven; 4 Adam was sent from Paradise. 5 The 
condition of a person then, his station in life, his family or the 
influence of his friends should not be the cause of determining 
the place of his grave, but his good life and his holiness. 6 No 
sinner therefore can be buried in the church, as St. Augustine 
says : " Those, who, being oppressed by grievous sins, procure 
that their bodies at death be placed in consecrated ground, 
should be condemned for their audacity, and the holy place 
will not deliver them, but will accuse them of the guilt of 
temerity." 7 No one, therefore, should be buried near the altar 
but the bodies of the martyrs and the heroes and defenders of 
their country. Only bishops, heads of religious orders, worthy 
■priests and lay persons of the highest sanctity should be buried 
in the church. 8 The body of an excommunicated person, 
that is, one shunned by all the people, 9 one publicly de- 
nounced, one who struck a clergyman, 10 those who die in sin, 11 
who do not live in union with the Church, as Jews, schismat- 
ics, pagans, heretics, suicides, fighters of duels, usurers, thieves, 
persecutors of the Church, who do not go to communion at 
Easter time, all in fact w T ho die in sin, cannot be buried in 

1 Gen. xxiii. 9. - Ibid. xxv. 9. a Ibid. xlix. 29 and 31. 4 Isaias xiv. 12. 

5 Gen. iii. 24. 6 13 q._2, Cum crravia. 7 S. Aug., 12 q. 2 et sea. 

8 13 q. 2. Prsecip. et Cap. ISullius. " ° Clement I. de Seoul. 

13 Extravag. Martini V. 1 1 Scavini, Theo. Moral., tin. vii, p. 135, 



268 ONLY ONE BAPTIZED. 

consecrated ground. Even those who bury them against the 
laws of the Church, by that act commit a grievous sin, and 
those who bury, contrary to the command of the Church, an 
infidel, one who fought a duel, one publicly denounced, one 
who struck a clergyman or committed suicide, by that very 
act are themselves excommunicated and cut off" from the 
Church; 1 their bodies pollute the cemetery, they must be 
taken out and the place reconciled. 3 Those who die by capi- 
tal punishment, as when hung for murder or executed for 
some great crime, if they repair as much as they can the evil 
and repent before execution, their bodies may be buried in 
holy ground, but without any service or solemnity of the 
Church. 3 In the blessing of a cemetery there is a place left 
for the burying of those rejected for any of these causes. 

No one, therefore, but a baptized Christian, and in union 
with the Church, can be buried in the cemetery. 4 If a man or 
woman does not go to confession once each year, their bodies 
are to be rejected. " Every one of either sex, after they have 
arrived at the age of reason, must confess alone their sin3 
faithfully to their own priest, and with their own work study 
to fulfill the penance given; otherwise, living, let them be 
driven from the church, and dying, let them be deprived of 
Christian burial. " 3 If a child die before baptism, there is a 
place near by where its body may be buried. If a stranger 
die, there is a place called "the potter's field, like the one 
bought by the priests and scribes for thirty pieces of silver, 
where the bodies of strangers may be laid. If an excommuni- 
cated person be buried, or one not in union with the Church 
be forced into the cemetery by the civil power, the place is 
accursed and must be reconciled again. The reason of thus 
disgracing some by depriving them of Christian burial is to 
prevent great and wicked sins by the fear of the public dis- 
grace of being rejected. 

Such are some of the laws and rules by which the Church 
protects the last resting places of her departed children. For- 
merly the graveyard was near the church, around the sacred 
building, but now, for reasons of health and convenience, 
because the churches are built in cities and towns, because 

1 Benedict XIV., Detestabilem et Si quis. ' Bit- Bom. 

3 Scavini, Theo. Moral.. Un. vii.. p. 135. * Inc .. Ex parte de Sepultuns. 

5 Lateran Council under Innocent III. 




BLESSING THE CEMETERY. 269 

land is dear and hard to be had, and because the rural silence 
of the neighboring valleys and hills is more in accord with 
the stillness of the sleep of death, some or all of these reasons 
caused the Church in later ages to bury her dead in the out- 
side of cities and towns. 

The husband and wife may be laid in the same grave, fol- 
lowing the example of Abraham and Sarah, who chose their 
own sepulchre. 1 Tobias also told his son to bury his mother in 
the same grave with him when her days would be ended. 2 
Children may be laid beside their parents. 3 Even those who 
have committed great sins, when they have satisfied by wor- 
thy works of penance and received the sacraments, may be 
buried in consecrated ground 4 and have Masses said for them. 5 
The cemetery where are laid the bodies of the Christian 
dead is blessed by the bishop, or by a priest sent' for that pur- 
pose. 6 The day before, a large cross is raised in the center ; 7 
it must be a wooden cross, like the one on which our Lord 
was crucified, for Calvary was a cemetery, as the mountain-top 
was covered with the bones and the ashes of those crucified 
under the Eoman law ; as on the side of that mountain was the 
grave wherein they laid the body of the crucified Son of God, 
thus the Christian's cemetery is like Calvary and the holy sep- 
ulchre. Before the cross is a trident holding three wax can- 
dles, for the place is going to be blessed in the name of the 
three Persons of the Trinity, and the fire and the lights of the 
candles signify the fire 01 the Holy Ghost coming on the 
Apostles, and the light of faith once burning in the hearts and 
souls of the dead. 

The day of the blessing, the bishop, or the priest sent in 
his place, robes himself with the amice, alb, stole, girdle and 
cope, all in white, for they tell of the brightness and splendor 
of these bodies when they will rise from the dead on the last 
day. All go with the book, holy water, the thurible, the in- 
cense boat, in procession ; first the lowest in dignity, then the 
others according to their rank, till the celebrant comes clothed in 
his sacred vestments, ready to perform the services. Then the 
three candles are lighted, and all standing before the cross, the 
celebrant says the following prayers, the clergy answering : 

1 Gen. xxiii. 4. " Tobias xiv. 12. 3 13 Quae,. Soror., Juris Canon. 

* Ooncil. Magem. Be Consecr, Disk TJlt. in fine, 5 Ibid., c. fine. 

6 Kit. Rom. - 7 Ibid. 



270 THE RITE. 

Let us pray. 
Almighty God, who art the keeper of souls, the guardian of salva- 
tion and the faith of those who believe, benignly look down upon the 
office of our service, and at our coming may this cemetery be purified, >*« 
blessed *%* and sanctified, so that the human bodies resting after this 
life, on the great day of judgment may be worthy, with the happy souls, 
to attain the joys of the life without end. Amen. 

Then all kneel before the cross, and the celebrant recites or 
sings the Litany, the clergy and people answering. At the 
words : 

That thou wouldst grant everlasting rest to all the faithful dead, 
We beseech thee hear us, 

the celebrant rises and says : 

That thou wouldst deign to purify and »J« bless this cemetery, 
We beseech thee hear us. 

He makes the sign of the cross as given above. 

The celebrant then kneels again and continues the Litany. 
When all has been finished, they rise from their knees, and 
the celebrant sprinkles the cross three times with holy water, 
saying : 

Sprinkle me with hyssop, Lord, and I will be clean ; wash me, and 
I will become whiter than snow. 

Then Psalm cxxxii.: 

Have mercy on me, O Lord, according to thy great mercy, etc. 

Eeciting the Psalm, the celebrant and all the clergy, fol- 
lowed by the people, go around the cemetery, sprinkling it 
with holy water, saying at the end the usual '*' Glory be to the 
Father," etc. Having returned to the cross again, the cele- 
brant continues : 

Let us pray. 

God, who art the Maker of the whole world, the Redeemer of the 
human race, and the perfect dispenser of all things visible and invisible: 
with an humble voice and a pure heart, we pray that thou wouldst deign 
to »£<• purify, «£«< bless and »J« sanctify this cemetery, in which the bodies 
of thy servants and handmaids must rest in death after the course of this 
life; grant unto them, believing in thee, through thy great mercy, the 
remission of all sins ; to these bodies resting in this cemetery, waiting 
for the Archangel's trumpet, liberally bestow everlasting consolation. 
Through Christ "our Lord. Amen. 



MEANING OE THE RITES. 271 

One candle placed on the top of the cross signifies our Lord, 
the light of the world and the light of truth he gave us in 
his death; the two others, on each arm of the cross, teach 
us of the lot of those who die, some saved, some lost — the can- 
dle on the right those saved, the candle on the left those lost. 
The celebrant then sprinkles the cross three times with holy 
water, signifying the washing of the souls of the dead three 
times in the waters of baptism, now telling of the washing of 
those souls by the prayers of the church ; he then incenses 
the cross three times, to tell us of the Body and Blood of the 
Lord once in the souls of the dead, telling again of the prayers 
of the living ascending up like incense before the throne of 
grace, asking for grace and mercy for the departed, joy and 
rest for the dead. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

i 

REASONS FOE THE CEREMONIES OF VESPERS. 

WHEN God commanded Moses to make the tabernacle, he 
said : " Look and make it according to the pattern that 
was shown to thee on the mount ; " 1 and as our church on the 
earth is built and arranged and made like the church in heaven, 
like that Jerusalem which is above . . . which is our mother ; 2 
" and as in that city of God, in the heavens, he has created 
beings to praise him day and night," for the prophet tells us, 
" that upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watch- 
men all the day and all the night, they shall never hold their 
peace;" 3 and as the Apostle S. John, looking into heaven, 
tells us that, " they rested not day and night, saying, Holy, 
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty ; " 4 thus the church of 
earth, like the church of heaven, praises the Lord each mo- 
ment of the day and of the night. But the church of heaven 
is the triumphant church, while the church of earth is the 
fighting church; and as they in heaven are the "spirits of 
the saints made perfect," and as angels they were created pure 
and holy, they are not weighed down with flesh, " the body 
of this death," like us, they can praise him forever without 
ceasing, while the condition of human nature requires, while 
on this earth, rest, food and diversion. Thus we cannot praise 
God forever, but we set apart times of prayer, times of joy and 
times of praising God. 

And this all comes from the old law, for we read, that after 
the people of Israel returned from their seventy years of cap- 
tivity in Babylon, the Prophet Esdras set apart offices to 
praise the Lord four times during the day and four times 
during the night, that it might be figured what now takes 
place in the Christian church. For that office of the clergy 
is divided into eight parts: Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, 
Sext, None, Vespers, and Complin. Matins signify morn- 
ing, for it was said in the early morning hours, soon after 

1 Exod. xxv. 40. 2 Gal. iv. 26. 3 Isa. lxii. 6. * Apoc. iv 8. 



274 THE OFFICE. 

midnight, in the monasteries and strict religious houses; 
Lauds comes from the Latin, signifying praises, for it is a 
continual hymn of praises to the Lord; Prime, Terce, Sext, 
and None are made up of the CXVIII Psalm, coming from 
the Jewish manner of counting the hours of the day. Prime 
began at sunrise and lasted till nine in the morning. Terce 
at nine and finished at noon. Sext at noon and continued 
till three in the afternoon, while None was from three in the 
afternoon to sundown. Thus, reader, you will better under- 
stand the words of the Gospel, " Now, from the sixth hour 
there was darkness over the whole earth." i " And it was the 
third hour and they crucified him." 2 " And it was the sixth 
hour and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth 
hour." 3 Such was the manner of dividing the day among 
the Jews. Vespers comes from a Latin word meaning the 
evening star, for the Christians, in remote ages, began to say 
that office in the early evening, at the appearance of the even- 
ing star. Complins comes from a Latin word which signifies 
to complete, to finish, for it was said in the evening, when all 
the work of the day was completed, and took the place of 
our evening prayers. 

Sometimes Matins and Lauds are joined together making 
one office, when it is composed of only seven parts, realizing 
the words of the royal prophet: Seven times a day, I have 
given praise to thee." 4 Said in the night it fulfills the words 
of the Prophet-King. " I rose at midnight to give praise to 
thee." 5 Such were the ways of saying the holy office in the 
times of other days, in the first ages of the Church, when the 
deserts and the solitudes were peopled with holy men praising 
the Lord; all hours of the day and night were sanctified, by 
being devoted to God's praises. 

We do not know who arranged these offices ; they go back 
till they are lost in the most remote ages, and with doubt 
come down to us from the times of the Apostles. All clergy- 
men, from the subdeacon up to the Pope, are obliged to say 
that office ; it is the prayer of the whole and universal Church. 
In religious orders it is often recited all together, the clergy 
being divided into two parts, one answering the other. Among 
the clergy who minister to the people in parishes, it is said 

1 S. Matt, xxvii. 45. 2 S. Mark xv. 25. 3 S. Luke xxiii. 44. 

* Psalm cxviii. 164. 5 Ibid. 62. 



THE BREVIARY. 275 

in private at their convenience. In large cathedrals, where 
they have Canons, men next to the Bishop and making as 
it were the senate of the diocese, the office is said, or rather 
sung, according to the plain or Gregorian chant, and is grand 
and impressive. This custom was received by the Christians 
from the Jews, for we read that David and Solomon appointed 
men to sing sweet hymns and melodies before the Lord ; x and 
the Psalms were composed for that purpose, they are the poetry 
of the Hebrews ; David opening his window prayed three times 
each day toward the holy city Jerusalem ; from that custom 
comes the habit among the Christians of praying three times 
each day. 2 

The office called the Breviary, except the lessons of Matins, 
is made up almost entirely of the Holy Scriptures. It is di- 
vided into four parts : winter, spring, summer, and autumn, 
corresponding to the four seasons of the year. The word 
Breviary comes from a Latin word which means a summary 
or a compendium, for it is a summary of the prayers of the 
Church. When you pray, you pray as a private person ; but 
when a clergyman says the Breviary, it is no more a private 
prayer but a public prayer for the whole Church, for he is a 
public minister of the Church, and the universal Church 
prays through him. 

In the most ancient times the saints were free to say any 
part they saw fit, 3 but when the Church was torn by heresies 
and divisions, the Emperor Theodosius asked Pope Damasus 
to arrange the office so that it would be uniform and the 
same everywhere. The eyes of the Pontiff turned toward the 
great light of those days, toward St. Jerome, who, with SS. 
Paul and Eustachius and many others, lived in the little 
grotto where our Lord was born in Bethlehem, and knowing 
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Syro-Chaldaic, and having for years 
studied the Bible in the vast deserts of the East, knowing all 
sciences, educated in everything taught in those days, for he 
was brought up amid the splendors of Rome, such was the one 
who took the ancient office and arranged it as we have it at the 
present day. It was approved by Pope Damasus, 4 its prayers 
arranged by Popes Gregory and Galasius, its beauties aug- 
mented by SS. Augustine and Ambrose, and the great fathers. 

1 I Par. xv. 20, 21. * Daniel vi. 10. 

2 Durand Rationale Div. LV. c. ii. n. 2. 4 C. de Vet. in eun. I Tauta. 



276 MASS AND YESPEES. 

Such is the office said each day by the clergy, called the 
Breviary; and the clergymen you sometimes see reading a 
book so attentively are saying their office. He must never 
omit that office from the day he is ordained a subdeacon to 
the day of his death, except when too sick to say it. 

Vespers is one of these offices taken from the Breviary. 
As we cannot say all the office, we take one and sing it in the 
church. Such was the origin and the reason of Vespers, " the 
evening song of praises" to Almighty God. 

The ceremonies of Vespers, like those of Mass, are rilled 
with deep meaning, breathing religion in every word, action, 
and movement of the celebrant. As at the Mass, the little boys 
and the clergy come into the sanctuary one after the other, 
reminding us of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and great men 
of old coming into the world, preparing the way for Christ, 
till at last the celebrant comes, figuring our Lord himself, for 
the "priest is another Christ." He wears the cassock and 
surplice ; but the surplice, the white garment, does not cover 
him entirely like the alb at Mass, for no such holiness and 
sanctity is required to officiate at Vespers as at Mass; he 
wears no mani pie, for Vespers do not signify the labors of this 
world, because the altar and the sanctuary tell us of this life 
during Mass, the Vespers tell us of heaven. The Mass is 
always said in the morning, and the Vespers in the afternoon ; 
because now, in this world, we are in the morning of our life, 
while in heaven we will be in the afternoon of our being. 
Therefore let the reader understand, that at the morning Mass, 
the sanctuary and the altar tell us of Calvary and its sacri- 
fice, while in the afternoon at Vespers, the sanctuary and the 
altar tell us of heaven and its glories. In the morniug. the 
priest, coming forth into the sanctuary, recalls the great high 
priest, Jesus Christ, coming into this world to sacrifice him- 
self; in the afternoon, the priest, coming into the sanctuary. 
signifies Jesus Christ entering into his glory at his ascension, 
to sit at the right hand of his Father in heaven, after his 
victory over death and hell. For that reason the maniple, 
signifying the labors and trials of this life, is not worn by the 
priest. He wears the stole, but not as in the morning. At the 
Mass it was crossed upon his breast, telling of sacrifice ; now 
it is hanging down either side of the celebrant, telling of the 
power and glory of Christ. In the morning it tells of Christ 



BEGINNING VESPERS. 277 

sacrificed on Calvary, in the afternoon it tells of Christ in 
power and glory at the right hand of his Father in heaven. 
Thus the bishop in a more perfect manner signifies our Lord 
in his glory, and for that reason he never crosses the stole on 
his breast, for he is supposed to have arrived at the most perfect 
repose gained by having all virtues. The large garment like 
a long cape worn by the celebrant is the cope. It comes from 
the ancient Romans, for they had that garment made of 
various materials, which they put on when raining, and there- 
fore in Latin it is called the pluvial, that is, a garment to 
keep us from getting wet in the rain. The celebrant, whether 
a bishop or a priest, comes to the foot of the altar and makes 
a genuflection to adore our Lord there present, then kneeling 
on the lowest step, he says : 

Open, Lord, my mouth to bless thy holy name; clean also my heart 
from all useless, bad and foolish thoughts ; enlighten my mind, kindle 
my love, that worthily, attentively, and devoutly I may recite this office, 
and that I may be worthy to be heard before the sight of thy divine 
Majesty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

O Lord, in union with his divine intention, with which, while on 
earth, he offered praise to God, I recite these hours to thee. 

Then rising, he makes a genuflection and goes to the place 
w T here he is to sit during the Vespers. If a bishop is in his 
own diocese, he sits on his throne ; if a bishop is in another 
diocese, or a priest, he sits on the left or Epistle side. Stand- 
ing thus in his place, the celebrant says in a low voice " the 
Lord's Prayer" and "the Hail Mary," and every office must 
be finished with the same prayer, according to an ancient 
council. 1 Kememhering the words of our Savior, "without 
me you can do nothing," 2 the celebrant sings : 

O God, come to my assistance. 3 

O Lord, make haste to help me. 4 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 

As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever will be. 

The celebrant then intones, while the others sing the fol- 
lowing: 

An Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and approaching rolled 
away the stone and sat upon it. 5 Alleluia, alleluia. 

1 Concil. Gerung. 2 John xv. 5. 3 Psalm lxix. 2. 4 Ibid. 5 Matt, xxviii. 2. 



278 at god's eight hand. 

Psalm ctx. 

The Lord said to my Lord : Sit thou at my right hand : 

Until I make thy enemies thy footstool. 

The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion : rule 
thou in the midst of thy enemies. 

With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength, in the bright- 
ness of the saints : from the womb before the day-star I begot thee. 

The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent : Thou art a priest for 
ever according to the order of Melclrisedech, 

The Lord at thy right hand hath broken kings in the day of his wrath. 

He shall judge among nations ; he shall fill ruins ; he shall crash the 
heads in the land of many. 

He shall drink of the torrent in the way ; therefore shall he lift up 
the head, 

Glory be to the Father, etc. 

The Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and approaching rolled 
away the s^one, and sat upon it. Alleluia. 



And behold there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord 
descended from heaven. 1 Alleluia. 

Psalm ex. 

I will praise thee, Lord, with my whole heart : in the council of 
the just, and in the congregation. 

Great are the works of the Lord ; sought out according to his wills. 

His work is praise and magnificence : and his justice continueth for- 
ever and ever. 

He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merci- 
ful and gracious Lord : he hath giveu food to them that fear him. 

He will be mindful forever of his covenant : He will show forth to his 
people the power of his works : 

That he may give them the inheritance of the Gentiles : the works 
of his hands are truth and judgment. 

All his commandments are faithful, confirmed forever and ever, made 
in truth and equity. 

He hath sent redemption to his people : he hath commanded his 
covenant forever. 

Holy and terrible is his name : the fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of wisdom. 

A good understanding to all that do it : his praise continueth forever 
and ever. Glory, etc. 

And behold there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord 
descended from heaven. Alleluia. 



And his countenance was like the lightning, and his raiment li 
snow.- Alleluia, alleluia. 

1 Matt, xsviii. 2. a Ibid. 3. 



THE HAPPY MAX. 219 



Psalm cxi. 



Blessed is tlie man that feareth the Lord : he shall delight exceedingly 
in his commandments. 

His seed shall be mighty upon earth, the generation of the righteous 
shall be blessed. 

Glory and wealth shall be in his house : and his justice remain eth 
forever and ever. 

To the righteous a light is riseu up in darkness : he is merciful, and 
compassionate, and just. 

Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth: he shall 
order his words with judgment : because he shall not ba moved forever. 

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance : he shall not fear the 
evil hearing. 

His heart is ready to hope in the Lord, his heart is strengthened : he 
shall not be moved until he look o^er his enemies. 

He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor : his justice remaineth 
forever and ever : his horn shall be exalted in glory. 

The wicked shall see, and shall be angry : he shall gnash with his 
teeth and pine away : the desire of the wicked shall perish. Glory, etc. 

And his countenance was like the lightning, and his clothing like 
snow. 1 Alleluia, alleluia. 



The guards were struck with terror, and became like dead men. 5 
Alleluia. 

Psalm cxii. 

Praise the Lord, ye children : praise ye the name of the Lord. 

Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth now and forever. 

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the 
name of the Lord is worthy of praise. 

The Lord is high above all nations ; and his glory above the heavens. 

Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, and looketh 
down on the low things in heaven and earth? 

Raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting up the poor out of 
the dunghill : 

That he may place him with princes, with the princes of his people. 

Who maketh the barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful 
mother of children. Glory, etc. 

The guards were struck with terror, and became like dead men. 3 

Alleluia. 



Answering, the Angel said to the women : Fear not, you, for I know 
that ye seek Jesus. 4 Alleluia. 

Psalm cxiti. 

When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous 
people : 

1 Matt, xxviii. 3. 2 Ibid. 4. 3 Ibid. * Ibid. 5. 



280 ISRAEL'S PBAISE. 

Judea was made Ms sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 

The sea saw, and fled ; Jordan was turned back. 

The mountains skipped like rams, and the hills like the lambs of the 
flock. 

What ailed thee, O thou sea ! that thou didst flee ? and thou, O Jor- 
dan ! that thou wast turned back ? 

Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams ; and ye hills, like lambs of 
the flock ? 

At the presence of the Lord the earth was moved, at the presence of 
the God of Jacob : 

Who turned the rock into pools of waters, and the stony hills into 
fountains of waters. 

Not to us, Lord ! not to us ; but to thy name give glory. 

For thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake : lest the Gentiles should say: 
Where is their God ? 

But our God is in heaven : he hath done all things whatsoever he 
would. 

The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold, the works of the hands 
of men. 

They have mouths, and speak not ; they have eyes, and see not : 

They have ears, and hear not ; they have noses, and smell not : 

They have hands, and feel not ; they have feet, and walk not : neither 
shall they cry out through their throat : 

Let them that make them become like unto them, and all such as 
trust in them. 

The house of Israel hath hoped in the Lord : he is their helper and 
their protector. 

The house of Aaron hath hoped in the Lord : he is their helper and 
their protector. 

They that fear the Lord hath hoped in the Lord : he is their helper 
and their protector. 

The Lord hath been mindful of us and hath blessed us. 

He hath blessed the house of Israel : he hath blessed the house of 
Aaron. 

He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great. 

May the Lord add blessings upon you : upon you, and upon your 
children. 

Blessed be you of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 

The heaveu of heaven is the Lord's, but the earth he hath given to 
the children of men. 

The dead shall not praise thee, O Lord : nor any of them that go 
down to hell. 

But we that live bless the Lord, from this time now and forever. 

Glory, etc. 

Answering, the Angel said to the women : Fear not, I know that ye 
seek Jesus. 1 Alleluia. 

The lines and sentences at the beginning and end of each 

1 Matt, xxviii. 5. 



THE "GLORY." 281 

Psalm are taken from the Gospel relating to the resurrection. 
The rive Psalms, when their spirit is studied, will appear to 
relate to the repose and glory obtained by Christ after his 
great work, when he ascended into heaven ; seen by the pro- 
phetic eyes of Israel's prophet-king, when the Lord entered 
heaven, invited, according to our ideas, by his Father to sit at 
his right hand in glory, saying : " Sit thou at my right hand 
until I make thy enemies thy footstool;" telling him again 
that " he is a priest forever according to the order of Mel- 
chisedech." 

Each Psalm ends with the words : 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
As it was in the beginning, and is now, and will be for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

This is said after each Psalm because the Psalms are to 
praise the Savior for his works on earth, but the glory of the 
Trinity is the end of all the works of God ; for that all things 
were made, to show forth the power of God, thus all things 
were made for him and for his praise. For that reason each 
Psalm ends with the glory of the Trinity. 

" As it was in the beginning," that is, in the past, "and is 
now," that is, in the present, "and ever shall be," that is, in 
the future, as Origen says : " When forever and ever is said, 
although its length may not be known to us, an end is not set 
to it by the Lord." 

Glory be to the Father, etc. * Glory is to be known and to 
be praised; 1 or the opinion of men well formed about another; 2 
hence the glory of God is to be known and to be praised by 
his creatures, that is, his external and accidental glory ; his 
internal and essential glory is what he has in himself, among 
the Persons of the Trinity. This essential glory can neither 
increase nor diminish by the praise or glory given him by 
creatures. 

Thus far we have given the services for Easter Sunday, but 
on account of the solemnity of the occasion, the Vespers are 
quite short that day ; and from the end of the Psalms we will 
give the services of the first Sunday after Easter as a specimen 
of the ordinary Sunday. 

1 Tulius Cicero. - S. Aug. De Civit. Dei de gloria Sseculi. 



282 VESPEEAL HYMS". 

After the Psalms have been sung, the celebrant, rising, 
sings the Chapter as follows : 

My dearest, whatsoever is born of God overconieth the world ; and 
this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith. 1 

Then seating himself, the hymn is sung. We cannot give 
the beauties of these hymns in English, as it is not possible to 
translate poetry from one language into another with all its 
beauties. For example, the writer saw Milton's "Paradise 
Lost" translated into the French, and was struck with its 
inferiority compared to the original English ; its beauty, sub- 
limity and power had faded, and it gave but a faint idea"of the 
genius of our great English poet. The hymns therefore can 
give but a poor idea of the beauties and grandeur of the Latin 
poetry. The hymns were given by Pope G-alasius, and are 
mentioned in some of the most ancient councils. 2 

The following is the hymn sung at Vespers of the ordinary 
Sundays of the year: 

O Best Creator of the light, 3 

The light of day calling forth, 
When from chaos and dark night 

The first day thou made the earth. 

Who by the morn and evening ray, 

While around revolves the spheres, 
Hath measured time and called it day, 

Wilt thou hear our prayers and tears ? 

Let our souls no sins defile, 

While on heaven alone we'll think, 
Then in this world, our sad exile. 

We'll keep our souls from Satan's link. 

Thus may we soar to heaven above, 

When we all sinful actions shun, 
And gain our glorious crowns of love, 

When here we pay for evil done. 

This prayer, most holy Father, hear, 

Son of God, intercede be. 
Thou, Holy Ghost, incline thine ear, 

Grant our prayer, thou mighty Three. 

Then, rising again, the celebrant sings, while the choir 
replies : 



1 II. Cor. i. 3, 4 2 ConciL Aratheuse et Toletani. 

3 Translated by the author. 



THE "MAGNIFICAT." 283 

May my prayer, O Lord, be directed, 
As incense in thy sight. 

The Antiphon for the " Magnificat" is then sung as follows: 

As it was early in the day, one Sabbath, and the doors were closed 
where the disciples were gathered together, Jesus stood in their midst 
and said : Peace be with you ; ' alleluia. 

My soul doth magnify the Lord. 2 

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. 

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid : for, behold, 
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 

For he that is mighty hath done great things to me : and holy is his 
name. 

And his mercy is from generation to generation, to them that fear him. 

He hath shown might in Ms arm : he hath scattered the proud in the 
conceit of their heart. 

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the 
humble. 

He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath 
sent away empty. 

He hath received Israel his servant, being mindful of his mercy. 

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed forever. 

Glory, etc. 

When the choir begins to sing the Magnificat, all sign them- 
selves with the sign of the cross. It signifies power and force 
against the spirits of darkness, as an ancient writer says: 
" Whenever the demons see the sign of the cross they fly, fear- 
ing the rod from which they received the wound." 3 A pon- 
tiff of ancient times says : 4 "Is it not so that all chrisms, that 
is, sacraments, are given with the putting on of chrism with 
the figure, that is, the sign of the cross by the ministry of the 
priest ? It is true that the waters of baptism forgive sins 
without the sanctifying cross, and letting the others go, who 
ascends the sacerdotal grade without the sign of the cross ? 
The one to be baptized is also signed with the sign of the cross 
on the forehead and on the breast." 

And many were the figures of the cross in the Old Testa- 
ment : Moses lifting his wand over the waters of the Eed Sea, 5 
a figure of Christ with his cross on Calvary ; for as by that 
wand of Moses Pharao and all his hosts were destroyed, thus by 
that cross of Christ Lucifer and all his hosts are overcome. 

1 John xx. 19. - Luke i. 46-56. 3 S. Chryst. 

4 Pope Stephen, De Consecv. Dist., 5 Numquid. 5 Exod. xix. 26. 



284 PSALMS, HYM^S, AND CANTICLES. 

In the desert Moses raised a cross and fixed to it a brazen ser- 
pent, so that all who looked to it were saved from the poison 
of the fiery serpent, 1 a figure of the cross of Christ saving all 
who seek him and look to the crucifixion, for we, like the Is- 
raelites of old, are suffering from the poison of the serpent, 
the devil, who deceived our parents in the garden. You may 
not see things thus, but Christ thus interpreted that serpent 
raised up in the desert, saying: "And as Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
that whosoever believeth in him may not perish, but may have 
everlasting life." 2 

Such again was the figure of the cross in the times of the 
patriarchs ; thus Jacob, placing Manasses and Ephraim before 
him, stretched his arms in the form of a cross, and blessed 
them. 3 Such was the sign of the Lord to the Angel Thau, 
that is, the Hebrew letter, like a cross on the foreheads of 
those who were to be saved. 4 Such will be the sign of the Son 
of Man on the last day, when he will come to judge the world. 5 
Such is the sign of the living God on the foreheads of those 
who will be saved on the day of judgment. 6 

Thus all bless themselves with the sign of the cross at the 
beginning of the Magnificat, the Virgin's Canticle, when our 
Lord took human nature in her breast. 

There is a difference between the psalms, hymns and canti- 
cles used in the services of the Church. The word psalm 
comes from the Greek, and signifies to play on a stringed in- 
strument, especially the cithara ; and they are the poetry of 
the ancient Hebrews, composed by David and others for the 
praises of the Lord in the services of the temple. 

The hymns of Vespers, fostered by Pope Galasius, approved 
by ancient councils, 7 are poems of great beauty, breathing 
piety in every line. The word hymn comes from the Greek, 
and meant the festive song of the ceremonies of the pagan 
temples; but under the influence of the Christian ideas of 
these early times, it signifies no more the pagan rites, but the 
songs of praises offered to the Lord. The Latin hymns were 
composed by the great saints, and exceed in beauty and depth 
of thought, and poetry even, the finest poetry of the ancients. 

The Canticle is a piece of poetry of a peculiar style of gran- 

1 Num. xxi. 9. 2 John iii. 14, 15. 3 Gen. xlviii. 14. a Ezek. ix 4. 

5 Matt. xxiv. 30. 6 Apoc. vii. 4. 7 Coucil. Toletan. et Agath. 



CEREMONIES OF THE MAGNIFICAT. 285 

deur and depth of thought, expressing joy for deliverance or 
thanks to God for some special favor. 

The reader is familiar with the Psalms as examples of He- 
brew poetry, but their beauties are greatly lost in the transla- 
tion. As examples of hymns, we refer the reader to the 
Breviary and the Missal, where will be found the finest hymns 
ever composed, while the Canticles of Moses, 1 of Anna, 2 of 
Isaias, 3 of Habacuc, 4 of Zachary, 5 and of the Blessed Virgin 6 
are the grandest and most sublime compositions knowm to the 
human race. The Virgin's Canticle is known by the name of 
the Magnificat, from the first word with which it begins in 
the Latin services of the Church. 

At the beginning of the Magnificat, the celebrant goes to 
the middle of the altar, and making a genuflection in the mid- 
dle of the sanctuary, to adore Christ there present, he ascends 
to the altar and kisses it, while the servers on either side make 
a genuflection. He kisses the altar because that represents 
Christ. Then, with the same words as at Mass, he puts in- 
cense into the incensor, blessing it, and with the same words 
as at Mass he incenses the altar. That incense represents our 
prayers, that altar Christ, that incensing of the altar our 
prayers offered up to Christ. The celebrant thus by that in- 
cense in a typical manner, by the smoke of a sweetly smelling 
fragrance, offers our prayers to Christ, the mediator between 
God and man. As incense is offered only to God, or to what 
represents him, thus the celebrant, after having incensed the 
cross three times, the relics of the saints on either side, for 
having been once while living the temples of the Holy Ghost, 
he swings the incensor three times over each part of the altar 
table, three times in front of it and twice at either end. The 
three swings of the incensor tell us of the Holy Trinity, of 
which Christ is one of the Persons; the two swings tell us of 
the two natures of Christ. 

Then coming down from the altar, he makes the usual gen- 
uflection and returns to his place, where he is incensed with 
three swings of the incensor, because he represents Christ, one 
of the three Persons of the Trinity; the next in dignity is now 
incensed according to their rank, then the next, and so on till 
the people, the last. All this signifies that they have been at 

1 Exod. xv. and Dent, xxxii. " 1 Kings ii. 3 Isaias xii. 

* Hab. iii. s Luke i. 68-79. 6 Ibid. 46-56. 



286 THE BEXEDICTIOX. 

one time the receivers of the Lord in the Eucharist, and that 
they are the temples of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the 
Magnificat the Antiphon is repeated : 

As it was early in the day, one Sabbath, and the doors were dosed 
where the disciples were gathered together, Jesus stood in their midst 
and said : Peace be with you ; l alleluia. 

"Rising then, the celebrant says : 

The Lord be with you. 2 
The choir or server : 

And with thy spirit. 3 
The celebrant: 

Let us pray. 
Grant, 4 we beseech thee, Almighty God, that those who celebrate 
thy Pascal solemnities, with thy aid, they may hold them in their lives 
and morals. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee 
liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

The celebrant concludes with : 

The Lord be with you. 

And with thy spirit. 

Let us bless the Lord. 

Thanks be to his name. 

May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. 

Amen. 

Our Father, etc. 

THE BENEDICTION. 

The celebrant then goes up to the altar, and opening tbe 
door of the tabernacle, with all makes a genuflection, all but 
the celebrant remaining on their knees. The latter then 
spreads the corporal and places the Monstrance on it; he 
then takes the Host, in the little ring, and puts it, by means of 
the ring, in the Monstrance. He then puts the Monstrance, 
thus holding the Host, on the throne over the altar, where 
our Lord will receive the adoration of his people. All these 
genuflections of the celebrant and his bowing down are in ado- 
ration of the Son of God present in the Sacrament exposed on 
the altar. The celebrant, bowing down while on his knees, rises 

1 John xx. 19. 3 Ruth ii. 4. 3 II. Tim. iv. 22. * The prayer for Whitsunday. 



INCENSE NOT BLESSED — WHY ? 287 

and puts incense in the thurible, sprinkling it three times on 
the burning coals in the form of a cross ; but although at all 
other times, when putting in incense, he blesses it, he says 
nothing now, for only the superior can bless, and the inferior 
does not do it in the presence of his superior, and as the cele- 
brant is in the presence of his superior, Christ, he does not 
bless the incense, but puts it in saying nothing. Kneeling 
down, he makes again a low bow to the Lord, and incenses 
the blessed Sacrament with three swings. The incense is our 
prayers, seen by S. John in heaven when he saw the Angel 
offering the prayers of the Saints before the throne of God. 
He incenses the Sacrament three times, for it is offered to the 
three times Holy Lord. From the moment the Sacrament 
was exposed, the choir began to sing the following hymns : 

The " O Salutaeis, Hostia." l 

O saving Victim ! opening wide 

The gate of heaven to man below ! 
Our foes press on from every side ; 

Thine aid supply, thy strength bestow. 
To thy great name be endless praise, 

Immortal Godhead, one in three ! 
Oh, grant us endless length of days 

In our true native land with thee ! 

The " Tanttjm Ergo." 

Therefore, such a great Sacrament, 2 

Bowing down, we adore ; 
And the rites of the Old Testament 

Gave way to the New long before ; 
Let our faith make up the supplement 

That our senses deny, and more. 

To the Father, to his only begotten Son, 

Give praise and jubilation ; 
To the Trinity, the mighty Three in One, 

All honor and benediction ; 
To the Holy Spirit a glory never begun, 

From all creatures adoration. 

At the words, " To the Father, to his only begotten Son," 
the celebrant again bows deeply, rises and puts incense into 
the incensor, and incenses the "Blessed Sacrament. Incense 

1 Found in a Prayer Book. 2 Translated by the author. 



288 A riCTU-RE OF HEAVEX. 

is twice offered, signifying the two natures of Christ. Three 
swings recalls the three times Holy Lord. When the hymn, 
the "Tanturn Ergo/*' has been sung, the celebrant says : 

Thou hast given them bread from heaven, 
Having in it all sweetness. 

While the choir is singing, " Haying in it all sweetness," 
the celebrant rises and sings : 

Let us pray. 

God, who, in this wonderful Sacrament, hast left us a remembrance 
of thy passion, grant, we beseech thee, that we may thus venerate the 
mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may ever feel in us the fruit 
of thy redemption. Who liveth and reigneth. God for ever and ever. 
Amen. 

He then kneels again, and the server puts on his shoulders 
the humeral veil, with which he ascends to the altar, and 
making a genuflection, he then covers the foot of the Mon- 
strance with the ends of the veil, and turning toward the peo- 
ple, holding the Monstrance, he makes a large cross from left 
to right over them with the Blessed Sacrament. Then laving 
the Monstrance on the altar, the veil is taken from his shoul- 
ders, and he puts the Sacrament into the tabernacle, and 
descends to the floor, after again making a genuflection in 
adoration. 

The veil is to recall the time when the mysteries of God 
were hidden from the Jews, in that olden time when the veil 
of the temple shut out the secrets of the Holy of Holies, or to 
recall the time when the Seraphims carried that thrice Holy 
Lord, when they veiled him with their wings : thus when the 
celebrant carries onr Lord he veils him, or rather the footstool 
of his throne of grace, the Monstrance. All that is to tell 
that now we see him but dimly, and as it were through a veil, 
by the virtue of our faith ; or to signify that the glories of the 
Lord are now veiled in the sacramental species of the conse- 
crated Host. 

Earth shows us no such picture of heaven as the sanctuary 
of our Church at this sacred time of the Benediction. Christ 
really present, the altar his throne, the lights the glories of 
heaven, the clergy and little boys the saints, the choir the 
heavenly spirits, the music the chanting of the Angels, the 



SAINTS PRAISING GOD. 289 

incense the prayers of the saints — all this seen by S. John in 
his vision in the island of Patmos. Thus, as far as our con- 
dition as mortal men allows, we make the sanctuary of our 
churches like the dwelling-place of God in heaven. And as 
our Lord, after haying received the adoration and the worship 
of his people assembled there before him, does not let them go 
till he has blessed them, thus by the hands of the celebrant 
they are blessed by the sign of the cross, to remind them of his 
love for them by dying on the cross for their salvation. 

After having descended to the foot of the altar, the choir 
sings : 

O praise * the Lord, all ye nations ; praise him, all ye peoples. 
For his mercy is confirmed upon us, and the truth of the Lord remain- 
eth for ever and ever. 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. 
As it was in the beginning, and is now, and ever will be. 

When the choir begins, " As it was in the beginning," all 
make a genuflection before the altar in adoration, and go to 
the vestry, the lower in dignity first, till the celebrant comes 
last, when all bow to the cross, the celebrant lays aside his 
vestments, and all is finished. 

1 Psalm cxvi. 



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